President Trump expressed optimism to reporters Monday about diplomatic efforts in the Iran war, but he also warned that if the U.S. and Iran can't make a deal, "we go back to doing what we were doing" when Washington was striking Iran. The Iranian regime insisted it is not engaged in any direct talks with the U.S., but after three nights of relative calm , it acknowledged ongoing talks with Oman aimed at establishing "mechanisms regarding maritime traffic" in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" the pause in hostilities is aimed at "giving diplomacy some space" but stressed that more U.S. military assets are still "moving into the region." Iran's judiciary on Tuesday announced the hanging of two men over charges relating to anti-government protests that peaked in January, with media reporting it took place in a public square.
"The death sentences of Abolfazl Sepahi and Amir-Hossein Safari were carried out this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said. Mehr news agency meanwhile reported that the hanging took place in "a square in the city of Malekshahr" in the central Isfahan province, with people present. The two were found guilty of "attacking police officers with machetes and knives, tying them to road signs, pulling them on the ground, dousing them with gasoline, and setting them on fire" on Jan.
8, Mizan said. It added that they had faced charges of "moharebeh (waging war against God) by drawing weapons and creating fear and terror" and "corruption on earth for committing acts that severely disrupted public order and security in the country," among other counts. In late December, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on Jan.
8 and 9. Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel, while rights groups based abroad maintain that security forces fired on protesters. On July 19, two other men were hanged over similar charges in Isfahan province.
Amnesty International says Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-talks-oman/#post-update-ecb53624 link copied The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it intercepted a drone near the Jordanian border and was looking into its origin. "A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force intercepted a UAV in the area of the Jordan border," the military said.
"The UAV did not cross into Israeli territory. The origin of the launch is under review." Jordan has been repeatedly targeted since war resumed between Iran and the United States earlier this month. Israel hasn't taken part in the latest round of fighting.
Separately, Jordan's army said Monday that a drone was downed in its airspace, the state news agency reported, according to the Reuters news agency. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-talks-oman/#post-update-48568fae link copied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet President Trump at the White House on Tuesday for the first time since the Iran war began. Tuesday's meeting is expected to be dominated by the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, as Washington says it wants to give negotiations a chance.
Israel has not taken part in the latest round of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, which flared earlier this month after an April ceasefire collapsed. Tuesday's meeting will be the eighth between the leaders since Mr.
Trump's return to office last year, as well as their first in-person talks since the war began. "This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility," Netanyahu said before departing Israel on Monday. "We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran.
Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us," he added. The U.S. has not launched strikes on Iran since Thursday night — a pause that followed 13 consecutive nights of strikes by the U.S.
Mr. Trump expressed optimism Monday about diplomatic efforts, but he also warned that if the U.S. and Iran can't make a deal, "we go back to doing what we were doing" when Washington was striking Iran.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-talks-oman/#post-update-b2e69390 link copied U.N. experts on Monday called on Iran to cancel the death penalties given to 10 young men over antigovernment protests that rocked the country in January. Twelve men, aged between their late teens and early twenties, were sentenced and two were executed on July 19.
"Sentencing 12 people to death in one hearing, in a closed courtroom and without clarity as to each defendant's individual responsibility violates established fair trial standards," the experts said. The 13 experts are special rapporteurs of the United Nations and members of working groups on forced disappearances and arbitrary detention. But they do not speak on behalf of the world body.
The 12 young men condemned to death were accused of involvement in the death of four members of the security forces as well as acts of arson and vandalism during protests on Jan. 8 in Shahid Alikhani Square, Isfahan. They were convicted based on televised confessions, the U.N.
experts said. "The charges against them remain unclear, as the Revolutionary Court hearings are closed and judgments are not published," they added. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-talks-oman/#post-update-40073576 link copied Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said Tehran rejected a U.S.
proposal during recent negotiations in Islamabad, describing the proposal as containing "extreme demands." He insisted Iran made no attempt to keep the talks alive after Washington threatened to walk away. Speaking at a conference for legal professionals, Gharibabadi said, "The U.S. side presented a proposal that reflected extreme demands.
The Iranian delegation explicitly rejected this proposal." According to Gharibabadi, "The U.S. side stated that if this proposal were rejected, the negotiations would be considered a failure and they would leave." He added that this is ultimately what happened, with the U.S. delegation ending the talks.
Gharibabadi stressed that "there was absolutely no insistence or pleading from the Iranian delegation to continue the negotiations, and this approach was an example of the Islamic Republic of Iran's 'dignified diplomacy.'" The deputy foreign minister also addressed developments related to the Strait of Hormuz, saying that after Iran "once again closed the Strait of Hormuz following the crimes committed by the United States more than two weeks ago," talks were subsequently held in Oman. He said, "The other side insisted that the southern route, which had been opened for ship traffic, remain open until the Iran-Oman negotiations reached a conclusion and only then be closed, but the Iranian delegation did not accept this proposal." Gharibabadi added: "We explicitly declared that whatever the outcome of the negotiations, the principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran had been clear since the beginning of the war, and such proposals would not be accepted." https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-talks-oman/#post-update-a0e2576c link copied President Trump said he has a lot of patience and time for reaching a deal with Iran. He also said the Strait of Hormuz is in "very good shape," despite Iran's recent efforts to interfere with shipping through the key waterway.
The president said Iran requested to meet with the U.S. through surrogates and directly. A reporter asked the president how much patience he has for the situation right now.
"I have...
