In The Singularity.
Pizza delivery.
1. Iran said it reached an agreement with Oman on a proposed route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a potential step toward a reopening of the critical waterway for energy supplies. A joint statement from Tehran and Muscat is under review and in the final drafting stage, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Wednesday, according to a post on Telegram. Negotiations between the two countries are “forward-moving” and a deal would be struck “if certain third parties do not obstruct this process,” he said. Baghaei didn’t mention any role of Washington in its statement, except to say the closure of the strait was a result of attacks by the US and Israel. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on the announcement. (Source: bloomberg.com)
2. The factional nature of Iranian decision-making is likely slowing Tehran’s approval of the draft Iran-Oman agreement covering vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. There are conflicting reports of whether the regime has finalized the draft agreement. Axios reported on August 4 that Iran’s leadership approved the agreement. Two unspecified regional officials told the Associated Press on August 5, however, that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had not approved the agreement. This round of negotiations — like the others before it — has reportedly taken place without the presence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). A faction of anti-concessions Iranian leaders, likely from the IRGC and led by IRGC Commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi, are close to the supreme leader and have consistently won policy arguments since the war began. (Source: understandingwar.com)
3. The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia in Yemen, said Wednesday that they had struck two Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea, and they threatened to intensify attacks there in an effort to close “all access routes” to Saudi oil shipments. The Houthi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said the group had fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi tanker called Wafa near the Saudi port city of Yanbu, though he did not say when the attack had occurred Later in the day, Mr. Saree said they had taken aim at a second Saudi oil tanker, called “Daisy,” in the Gulf of Aden, with a ballistic missile. He said in a social media post the ship was damaged and “forced to turn back.” The Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Houthis’ claims. (Source: nytimes.com)
4. The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had started conducting strikes in southern Lebanon after accusing Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, of a cease-fire violation. On Thursday morning, the Israeli military announced that two of its soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday and that four others had been seriously wounded. It did not immediately provide details about the circumstances of the deaths and injuries. (Source: nytimes.com)
Since 2024, Russian drones have been conducting human safaris in Kherson and other parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, tracking Ukrainian civilians with the aim of killing them.
A United Nations inquiry last year documented hundreds of drone attacks on individuals across eastern Ukraine that targeted people walking on sidewalks, working in gardens, driving ambulances, commuting to work. Sometimes drones hang over burning buildings, waiting for fire brigades to appear so that firemen can be murdered too. The motive can only be terror, and perhaps revenge. (Sources: snfagora.jhu.edu, theatlantic.com)
6. Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI:
We are now like in The Singularity. This is the moment… I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. And I think it’s gonna be incredible, hugely positive, awesome for the world… We’re actually in it. This is real… (Sources: youtube.com, newyorker.com)
