Iran says it's in the final stage of drafting an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz waterway with Oman, while two Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage can be found here.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has said an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, which lies on the other side of the waterway, is in the “final stage” of drafting. Speaking Wednesday, he said a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the U.S.
The agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.
The strait is crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Before the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, around one fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
On Thursday, all eyes were on the U.S. for the next development.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and another four were seriously wounded in an explosion in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said Thursday. The deaths are Israel's first since a shaky truce was implemented in June between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The Israeli army launched strikes Wednesday in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire and issued a call for residents of another village to flee — the first such warning Israel has issued in Lebanon for weeks.
The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss implementation of the June deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon, in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.
The war in Sudan is threatening the ancient Meroe pyramids, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its unique and angular architecture, as preservation efforts have completely halted.
Sudan’s deadly conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has destroyed many of the country’s historical sites and museums. UNESCO warned in April that cultural and historical sites are under growing threat.
Located about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital Khartoum, Meroe comprises over 200 pyramids built between 800 B.C. and 350 A.D. as royal tombs for the Kingdom of Kush. Archaeologist Mahmoud Suleiman warned that collapses are possible at the site.
A family visits the Meroe pyramids at the Meroe archaeological site in Bejrawiya, Sudan, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohnd Blal)
A small boat sails past cargo ships and other commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
People spend time at a beach as commercial vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, resuming weapons tests days before its rivals the U.S. and South Korea begin annual military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
The launch from North Korea's eastern coastal Wonsan area was detected around 5 p.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, explaining that South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance posture and is closely coordinating with the U.S. and Japan.
Japan’s Defense Ministry also said North Korea fired a possible ballistic missile but there was no impact in or around Japan, where the coast guard urged ships around the coast to use caution and notify authorities if any fallen objects were found.
The ballistic missile launch was North Korea’s first since late June, when it tested a tactical ballistic missile with a “special mission” warhead and other weapons. After watching the testing activities, leader Kim Jong Un underscored the need to bolster the military’s “deadly and destructive offensive posture.”
Thursday's launch also came ahead of large-scale, annual exercises to be conducted by the U.S. and South Korean militaries later this month. U.S. and South Korean officials say the training is defensive in nature, but North Korea says the maneuvers are a practice invasion and often responds with its own missile tests and warlike rhetoric.
South Korean and U.S. officials haven't formally released details about this year's joint exercise, but the drills are typically held in the latter half of August.
Kim has been focusing on enlarging its nuclear and missile arsenals since his high-stakes diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Experts say Kim wants international recognition as a nuclear state so that he can demand the lifting of international economic sanctions on North Korea.
U.N. Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from launches involving its huge stockpile of ballistic missiles. Tests of other weapons including cruise missiles and artillery systems are not banned, but experts say they still pose a threat to South Korea and the U.S.
In early July, Kim supervised tests of a nuclear-capable cruise missile aboard a new 5,000-ton destroyer. After years of prioritizing ballistic missile development, Kim has increasingly turned his focus to naval capabilities, including the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine.
In recent years, Kim has boosted his diplomatic credentials by expanding ties with Russia. North Korea has supplied conventional weapons and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
Kim also has pushed to deepen cooperation with China, the North's economic pipeline. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the North Korean capital Pyongyang in June for the first time in seven years.
In response to Trump’s repeated outreach to restart diplomacy, Kim has suggested talks can resume if the U.S. drops its demand for North Korean denuclearization as a precondition.
Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
FILE - A North Korean flag flutters in the wind atop a 160-meter tower in North Korea's village Gijungdong as seen from the Taesungdong freedom village inside the demilitarized zone in Paju, South Korea on April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
