Greek shipper Gas Log says LNG tanker stable after Strait of Hormuz incident

A liquefied natural gas vessel controlled by Greek shipping company Gas Log was stable after an incident while exiting the Strait of Hormuz, with everyone on board safe and accounted for, the company said.

An "incident" had occurred on its Gas Log Shanghai ‌LNG vessel on July 31, said Gas Log in a statement. It did not provide details about the incident or whether the ship or its cargo had sustained any damage.

"Gas Log LNG Services immediately activated their emergency plan, notified all relevant authorities, and is currently assessing the condition of the vessel and assure the safety of our people," the statement said.

The Gas Log Shanghai had loaded an LNG cargo at Qatar's Rash LAFSA export terminal on July 27-28, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firms Kepler and LSE. 

Gold firms after Trump holds off on Iran attack

Gold rose on Monday as oil prices fell after U.S. President Donald Trump held off on ‌fresh attacks on Iran in hopes of a swift deal, slightly easing concerns over inflation and higher interest rates.

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $4,055.76 per ounce, as of 0210 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.9% to $4,054.00. 

Oil slumps on hopes of Iran deal, yen firms up after intervention

Oil prices skidded and stocks wobbled on Monday as hopes of a peace deal in the Middle East grew, while the yen ?jumped suddenly again after the U.S. and Japan confirmed joint intervention to prop up the frail currency.

Brent crude futures sank more than 4% ‌to $83.88 after U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will happen on Monday. He had earlier called off an imminent attack on Iran to reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear capabilities.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% while Nasdaq futures gained 0.8%. European futures were 0.7% higher.

Asian stocks, though, struggled at the start of the week after a turbulent July that saw wild swings due to worries over the AI trade as investors fretted about the massive capital spending and ?whether it will provide returns quickly enough.

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) dipped nearly 2%, while South Korea's KOSPI (.KS11) slid over 4%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MISX00000PUS)  was down about 1%. 

Trump says Gulf leaders' input weighed heavily in decision to hold off on ordering new Iran strikes

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump added that a plan was in place for US forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday. But he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.  

Two tankers with Saudi oil exit Red Sea over weekend, data shows

Two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend, while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed following reports of vessel attacks, shipping data showed on Monday.

The number of commodity vessels that passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell to 18 on Sunday, from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday, the ‌Kpler data showed.

Iran's FM holds calls with Saudi and Pakistan officials

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with senior Saudi and Pakistan officials, according to local media.

Araghchi held “a series of high-level telephone conversations” Sunday night with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir, which marked his second round of diplomatic calls within 24 hours, Iranian state media Press TV said.

During the call, they discussed “the current situation” and establishing security and stability in the region, the outlet said, citing an X post by Araghchi.

Donald Trump says negotiations with Iran set to resume today

President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will resume Monday, just a day after he said he called off a “massive attack” on the country.

“They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming. Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll see,” Trump told the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday following a weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Trump said he was asked to call off the planned attack by allies like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and also by Iran.

“We’re all set to go, but when the allies asked to call it off, they got us sort of saying, “Well, let’s see.’ And the reason they ask is they think there’s a deal,” Trump said. “There’s a deal on Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran. I call it the denuclearization of Iran.”

Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers discuss de-escalation

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed efforts to de-escalate regional tensions in a phone call on Sunday.

According to Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry, Prince Faisal stressed Riyadh's commitment to continuing regional efforts to strengthen security and stability in pursuit of "the common interests of all the countries and peoples of the region."
 

Qatar, Saudi pressure led Trump to halt Iran strike

US President Donald Trump pulled back from a planned large-scale attack on Iran one day before it was due after pressure from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing senior US officials.

CENTCOM had prepared strikes on Iranian energy and infrastructure targets, with Israel expected to participate, a senior US official said.

Another said Israel had told Washington the attack was not worthwhile unless it severely damaged Iran’s economic and regime targets.

Qatar asked Trump for another 24 hours for negotiations, while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned of regional escalation and damage to oil facilities in Persian Gulf states, the report said.

A proposed Hormuz agreement is close and includes renewing the ceasefire, opening the strait toll-free for 60 days, establishing new shipping routes and resuming US-Iran talks based on the memorandum of understanding, according to the report.
 

Crew of Iranian ship hit in Ukrainian attack returns to Iran

The crew of an Iranian commercial ship hit in a Ukrainian attack returned to Iran along with the body of a sailor killed in the incident, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday.
 

Iran warns attack on its infrastructure would escalate conflict

Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Mojtaba Khamenei, has warned that any attack on Iran's critical infrastructure would have far-reaching consequences beyond the battlefield.

In a statement, Mokhber said the United States evaluates conflicts through military power, while Iran bases its response on historical and long-term strategic realities.

He claimed that strikes on Iran's infrastructure would not only escalate the conflict but also undermine the US-led global order established by Western powers over the past 250 years.

His remarks come amid heightened tensions and continued exchanges of sharp rhetoric between Tehran and Washington.

Efforts underway to revive June US-Iran deal: Iranian MP

An Iranian lawmaker said that mediators were seeking to revive a deal that briefly halted the war between Iran and the United States in June, reports AFP.

Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for parliament’s national security commission, said in a video interview that “there is an effort underway to revive the 14-point Islamabad agreement, particularly by the mediators”.

“They know that the main issue and, in fact, the key to the matter right now is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, so yes, there is an exchange of views,” he said.