US Vice President JD Vance said pressure on Iran will continue unless Tehran agrees to make long-term changes aimed at improving relations with Washington. In an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Vance said the United States was assessing whether Iran was prepared to make the changes needed for better relations between the two countries.

Vance said the United States had substantially weakened Iran’s nuclear and conventional military capabilities. He also said that Washington had destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme and its conventional military capacity.

If Iran does not want to improve relations, the United States will keep applying as much pressure as it can, Vance said. He added that the United States would seek to extract as much oil and gas as possible from the Middle East so that American citizens could obtain gas and energy at lower prices.

Iranian military spokesperson Amir Akraminia said the United States has no option but to comply with Tehran’s new orders in the Strait of Hormuz. In a report published on August 9, he said the orders were irreversible even if Washington wanted otherwise. Akraminia warned that the United States would pay a greater price than it had in the past if it did not accept the current situation.

Iran has set several conditions for reopening the strait. On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it would not reopen the waterway until the United States changed its behavior. The council’s secretary and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, presented Tehran’s conditions to Washington.

The demands include no future threats against Iran, a permanent end to war against Iran and allied armed groups in the region, lifting the naval blockade on Iranian ports, and withdrawal of US forces from the region. Tehran also called for full compensation for war-related damage, removal of sanctions, and unconditional release of seized Iranian assets. IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi said talks with Oman were unrelated to reopening the strait.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency released a video of Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed duties as Iran’s new supreme leader after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The video was published on Telegram on Saturday. It shows Mojtaba Khamenei surrounded by several people and speaking with those nearby.

Mehr’s report did not say when or where the footage was recorded. It also did not identify the people surrounding Mojtaba Khamenei. As a result, no confirmed details were provided about the timing, location, or participants shown in the video.

According to the report, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint United States and Israeli attack on Tehran and other Iranian cities on February 28. In early March, Iran’s Assembly of Experts selected his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader. Iran later carried out repeated missile and drone strikes against US and Israeli military bases and other facilities in the region in response to the attack.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only if the United States fully accepts Iran’s specified conditions. IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi made the statement in a report published on August 8, 2026, citing Iran’s state news agency Tasnim. He said the decision to resume operations in the strait is not connected to ongoing talks with Oman.

Mohebi said Iran has a specific process and conditions for reopening the important waterway, and that it will reopen only after those requirements are met. He described the Strait of Hormuz as more than an economic shipping route, calling it an element of geographic and strategic power for Iran. He said Washington must fully accept Iran’s conditions.

The spokesperson also said the United States must stop intervening in regional discussions. He stated that the strait would certainly reopen once the United States accepts Iran’s terms. Iran’s position, as presented by Mohebi, separates the reopening decision from Omani-mediated discussions or any possible agreement and places it on fulfillment of Iran’s own conditions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called on Muslim countries to unite against what he described as aggression by the United States and Israel. In a post on X published on August 8, 2026, he urged neighbouring countries to build unity based on self-reliance and “genuine brotherhood.”

Araghchi said Muslims could collectively confront every challenge from hostile outside powers when they remain united. He said the time had come to rely only on themselves and embrace genuine brotherhood.

The Iranian diplomat also said Iran’s armed forces had demonstrated their readiness, capability and strength while facing what he called the world’s most advanced and expensive military forces. The report cited the Mehr news agency as its source for the remarks.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is prepared to continue dialogue to protect its national interests, while rejecting any demands that would undermine Iran’s sovereignty or defense capabilities. In an address to the Iranian people on August 8, 2026, he also stressed the need for improved relations with neighboring countries and for preventing regional divisions.

Pezeshkian rejected claims that his administration had pressured the country’s leadership to agree to negotiations. According to state news agency IRNA, he said Iran views Muslim countries as brothers and questioned why Muslim states should become involved in conflict with one another.

The president warned that the United States and Israel were seeking to unite Persian Gulf countries against Iran. He said Tehran was working to prevent such efforts. His remarks combined a stated openness to dialogue with conditions centered on preserving Iran’s sovereignty and defense capacity, while emphasizing regional relations and opposition to divisions among neighboring and Muslim countries.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, said the United States had completely failed to achieve its objectives in the war against Iran. In a statement issued on Saturday for National Journalists’ Day, the IRGC also claimed that US President Donald Trump had become trapped by a “trap” of his own making in the conflict.

The IRGC said the United States and Israel had failed to attain their desired goals during the second and third phases of the war against Iran despite military and media-based efforts. It further claimed that global media were now clearly highlighting Washington’s failure, Trump’s “defeat,” and his alleged entrapment in a self-created situation.

According to the statement, the war exposed a new dimension of US “strategic deadlock,” divisions among Western allies, and the visible decline of American dominance. The IRGC said the ceasefire agreement was, in effect, a document of US surrender to the realities on the ground and Iran’s negotiating capacity. The report cited Mehr News as its source.

General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has advised senior Trump administration officials to seek an honourable way out of the ongoing war with Iran, CNN reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. The report was published on August 8, 2026, and described Caine’s effort to build coordination and a common position among senior officials before further meetings.

According to the sources, Caine warned that intensifying the war could prove counterproductive and said achieving President Donald Trump’s stated goals through air strikes alone was nearly impossible. He discussed the issue with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and other senior officials. One source told CNN that Caine was looking for an exit path, while another said his central aim was to prevent the military from being placed in a more dangerous situation.

Trump is reluctant to deploy ground troops to Iran and believes air strikes can persuade Tehran to accept an agreement on his terms. Caine and several administration officials privately doubt that air strikes alone can deliver the desired outcome, prompting a search for alternatives within Trump’s limits. Spokesman Joseph Holstead declined to comment on Caine’s confidential discussions or anonymous-source claims.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not accept any pressure intended to force it into submission. Speaking on Friday in the third and final part of a televised address marking the second anniversary of his swearing-in as president, he said the Islamic Republic would continue to defend its rights and maintain its military and defence capabilities.

Pezeshkian said Iran would fight if others sought to compel it to submit. “We will not retreat, and we will not bow our heads,” he said. He also questioned why Iran should follow the path desired by Israel when it is able to defend its rights.

The president’s remarks stressed Iran’s stated commitment to preserving its rights and defence capacity. The address was the concluding segment of his televised message for the anniversary of his inauguration. The report did not provide details of any new policy measures, negotiations or reactions from other parties.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticized recent claims by US officials, describing them as part of failed and outdated diplomacy. In comments reported on August 7, 2026, Iranian media said Ghalibaf responded through social media, arguing that the statements contained nothing new and amounted to repeated performative drama.

Ghalibaf referred to claims that a major attack was coming, that others should wait, and that they wanted negotiations. He said such language was nothing more than repetitive theatrical diplomacy. He also criticized the use of threats as a means of creating pressure in negotiations.

The speaker said failing to honor commitments and resorting to false news were also unsuccessful tactics. He urged the US side to accept reality and fulfill its commitments, saying there was no need for further drama. The report did not mention any response from US officials to Ghalibaf's remarks.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Karem Gharibabadi has indicated that Tehran is receiving some “positive” messages from the United States, according to a report published on August 7, 2026. He did not provide details on the nature of the messages or the level from which they were being conveyed.

Tehran-based journalist Wesam Bahrani told Al Jazeera that the status of talks with Iran had become a major question amid reports that the United States was running low on interceptors. Bahrani said Gharibabadi had stated that Iran was receiving some form of messages from Washington and had suggested they were positive, while declining to identify their type or origin.

Bahrani said progress in discussions would first require resolving the issue of bilateral talks with Oman. He added that an agreement would need to be completed there, alongside the establishment of new boundaries in the Strait of Hormuz and on Iran’s side. Gharibabadi did not disclose the specific content or source of the reported messages.

Israel’s Mossad dismissed two senior officials after a plan to change Iran’s government reportedly failed, according to a Thursday report by Israel’s Channel 12. The report said Mossad chief Roman Gofman removed the intelligence division head and the agency’s Iran division chief from their posts. Their identities were not disclosed, and one had been appointed to the intelligence role only months earlier.

Channel 12 said the plan, developed in coordination with the United States, sought to intensify internal activity against Iran’s current government and support opposition groups. It was reportedly designed to activate anti-government efforts inside Iran under the cover of possible joint Israeli-US air strikes. The report also said the possibility of establishing alternative political leadership had been considered.

According to the report, the plan either failed in implementation or was suspended before becoming operational. It cited poor relations between Gofman and the dismissed officials, as well as disagreements over Iran-related strategy and priorities. A separate Mossad-CIA plan involving Kurdish fighters was reportedly halted at an early stage and later cancelled. The Israeli government made no immediate comment.

US President Donald Trump said the war involving Iran could end very soon, while acknowledging that the US armed forces face some problems with weapons supplies. Speaking to reporters about Iran in the Oval Office on August 7, 2026, Trump said he did not believe the conflict could continue much longer.

Asked about weapons stockpiles, Trump said the United States has effectively unlimited supplies of certain types of very powerful weapons. He contrasted those systems with other weapons whose available stocks are more limited.

Trump did not provide further details on how the war might end or identify the weapons facing supply constraints. The report also did not specify the nature of the supply problems cited by the president.

University of Chicago professor Robert Pape said US President Donald Trump has become trapped in an “escalation trap” over Iran, with very limited room to exit. In comments to Al Jazeera, Pape said US air and naval strikes may have delivered some immediate tactical successes but failed to achieve any long-term national objective. He argued that Iran has emerged from the conflict in a stronger position than before.

According to Pape, Trump faces two choices: accept Iran’s growing regional influence or intensify the conflict further. He said there is no third option beyond those two paths. His assessment frames the current situation as one in which military pressure has not produced the longer-term strategic outcome sought by the United States.

Pape warned that the limits of relying solely on air and naval power have already become clear. He said the situation could reach a point where Trump is compelled to consider a ground operation. With midterm elections approaching, Pape also suggested that Trump may seek a symbolic military victory.

Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Bagher Ghalibaf said US President Donald Trump has repeatedly engaged in performative talks, accusing Washington of pursuing a failed strategy to pressure Iran. In a post on X on Thursday, Ghalibaf said the United States had repeatedly threatened attacks, withdrawn those threats, and then returned with offers for negotiations.

Ghalibaf said efforts to create pressure through threats, broken promises and false information had failed. He called on the United States to acknowledge reality and honor its commitments. His remarks followed Trump’s announcement that he had suspended a planned large-scale military attack against Iran, citing requests from Tehran and several regional countries as well as diplomatic progress.

Trump said a possible agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end Iran’s nuclear threat. Iran, meanwhile, said discussions with Oman on reopening the strait were nearing a final stage. While Trump voiced hope that the conflict could end quickly, Iranian officials reiterated that they were prepared for a long-term war.