2026 Iran War: 2026-08-13

Iran's Intelligence Ministry said two people it described as agents linked to US and Israeli intelligence were killed in a clash with security forces in southeastern Iran. Officials also said four other people were arrested over an alleged plot to destabilize Sistan and Baluchestan province and damage infrastructure. The claim was reported by B92 citing Al Jazeera; independent confirmation of the identities and affiliations was not immediately available.

Basij Organisation commander Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is under Iran's control and management, according to Fars as reported by Al Jazeera. The statement follows US President Donald Trump's repeated claim of total US control of the waterway and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's warning of a US miscalculation over Hormuz. Shipping through the strait remains far below pre-war levels amid the dual US and Iranian restrictions.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Iran-Oman negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz have reached an advanced stage, Al Jazeera reported. Qatar wants the waterway reopened as soon as possible. Iran says it is not talking directly to Washington on the strait and is instead working with Oman on shipping lanes that address both countries' security concerns, after a June 17 memorandum of understanding failed to restore free transit.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran and the United States have not discussed extending a ceasefire. "From Iran's perspective, there is no start date for the ceasefire, so there is nothing to extend," the official said. Tehran has instead pressed Washington to return to an interim memorandum of understanding and set a clear implementation timeline. The denial follows Pakistani mediation efforts and conflicting claims about a 60-day truce.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that Washington has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures, citing the war on Iran and warning of an even bigger miscalculation over the Strait of Hormuz. "Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful," he wrote. The remarks come as President Trump again claims total U.S. control of the waterway while Tehran says Hormuz stays closed until its conditions are met. Al Jazeera and multiple regional outlets reported the statement on 13 August.

Al Jazeera reports President Donald Trump again said on Truth Social that the United States has total control of the Strait of Hormuz and may keep it, calling the US naval blockade of Iranian ports a wall of steel. Shipping data cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters show only eight vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, below a recent ten-day average of about 12 and far under the pre-war rate of roughly 130 to 140 ships a day, according to Kpler. Tehran continues to say the waterway stays closed until Washington ends the war and blockade, unfreezes Iranian assets, and accepts a wider regional ceasefire. No new US-Iran deal to fully reopen the strait has been announced.

Navy Times and Stars and Stripes report that multiple sailors on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln tried to jump overboard during its extended Iran-war deployment, with one sailor on medical hold after an attempt and another stopped by shipmates. The ship has logged about 250 consecutive days at sea and more than eight months deployed after its May return date was extended; roughly 5,000 crew remain at sea with no public return date. About 200 family members raised mental-health and living-condition concerns with Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao at a San Diego town hall last week. The Guardian also covered the reports. The Navy has said mental-health staff are available and that more specialists are being sent to the ship.