US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the interim agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending weeks of hostilities was effectively "over," following a sharp escalation in military exchanges across the Gulf that has further rattled global energy markets and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Requests for legal advice have skyrocketed by more than 5,700% in Saudi Arabia since 2024, while in Kuwait they have increased by 1,832%, a new study has revealed.
The United States launched a fresh wave of military strikes across Iran overnight, targeting more than 80 sites after Tehran resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, further destabilising a fragile ceasefire agreed less than three weeks ago.
Attacks on commercial shipping resumed in the Strait of Hormuz, with two vessels struck in separate incidents that have heightened fears over the security of the shipping lane and threatened to derail recent diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.
A fire broke out at a restaurant on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road on Monday and was brought under control after more than three hours with no injuries reported, said media reports, citing Dubai Civil Defence officials. Cooling operations are currently under way to extinguish remaining hot spots.
Thales, a global leader in defence, aerospace sectors, in partnership with Omani contractor Ankaa, has been awarded a contract by the Oman Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to deliver its latest-generation Tracsigma primary surveillance radar and two RSM NG secondary surveillance radars.
Iran and the US concluded a round of indirect talks on Wednesday with no sign they had made headway toward a lasting peace, focusing instead on issues that they said had been resolved when an interim deal was announced two weeks ago. Sources said negotiators spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US and Iran held indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.
The prospects for renewed US-Iran diplomacy remained uncertain on Tuesday, with Tehran denying any plans for high-level negotiations even as US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha to discuss the ongoing negotiations and regional security.
Conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran over the next phase of US-Iran negotiations have cast fresh uncertainty over efforts to consolidate a fragile ceasefire, even as commercial shipping continues to move cautiously through Strait of Hormuz.
