Over the past 24 hours, Middle Eastern fronts diverged sharply amid tense confrontation. The US was preparing a new round of strikes as early as this weekend. Trump promised heavy attacks at Camp David, while CENTCOM for the first time included nuclear and energy sites among expansion options. Gaza saw a major diplomatic opening: after nearly 10 months of bargaining, Hamas announced conditional agreement to disarm. Netanyahu stayed silent and Israeli right-wing forces reacted strongly. A tanker at Hormuz's entrance was struck by an unidentified projectile and lost control as daily passage fell to single digits. Fighting also resumed in southern Lebanon, with no substantive regional easing.

US Plans Wider Weekend Strikes; Nuclear Sites Enter the Options

Abstract nuclear-infrastructure imagery evokes escalation risk.
Original Chinese illustration · English guideA dark dome under smoke and fractured black lines evokes threatened nuclear infrastructure and escalation risk. Decorative candles below suggest market uncertainty. The illustration contains no substantive text, quantities, axes or observed data, and does not document an actual strike location.

Two US officials told CNN that a new round of Iran strikes was planned as early as the weekend. Scope and targets were not final, and action could still be canceled before formal attack orders.

At Friday's Camp David cabinet meeting, Trump publicly warned Tehran that the US would hit very hard and asserted that when Iran could no longer endure it, it would seek peace.

CENTCOM had prepared expansion options including two weeks of intensive heavy bombing of missile-launch sites, as well as adding key energy infrastructure to the target list. The administration remained notably reluctant to strike energy infrastructure directly, fearing Iranian retaliation against Gulf neighbors' oil facilities and severe damage to an already strained world energy market. Earlier that week, Israeli Defense Minister Katz had said he strongly wanted energy strikes but lacked US approval, exposing tactical differences.

The nuclear dimension drew particular attention. CNN reported preparations to hit sites south of Tehran, including Pickaxe Mountain and surrounding areas, with readiness accelerating markedly in recent days.

No new airstrikes were reported across Iran from Thursday night into Friday, a pause after CENTCOM's heavy strike wave Wednesday night. CNN suggested this indicated a temporary end to direct US retaliation for attacks on its bases.

Iran Claims a Kuwait Base Attack; Kuwait Intercepts Drones

Six broad-time milestones cover strikes, the tanker attack, disarmament, traffic and Iranian inflation.
Original Chinese illustration · English guide24-hour key developments, August 1 summary: early morning, US plans weekend Iran strikes; afternoon, tanker hit in Hormuz; noon, UN calls Hamas agreement the only good news; morning, Israel says Hamas must disarm first; July 31 evening, only five vessels transit; July 31, half Iran's population experiences 100% inflation. These are the image's broad time-of-day labels, not precise timestamps, and should not replace the exact timeline in the text.

Early Friday, Iran's military claimed on state television to have struck Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, which hosts US forces, and released footage purportedly showing munitions fired toward Kuwait. Tehran called it retaliation for US strikes on Qeshm Island earlier that week that killed a civilian couple and their two-year-old daughter.

Kuwait's military confirmed intercepting Iranian drones targeting military and critical facilities. It said hostile targets were destroyed, falling debris caused some property damage, and there were no casualties. CNN noted that using neighboring territory's geographic depth to harass forward US infrastructure had become a recurring Iranian response.

At Camp David, Trump downplayed links between Iran and a cyberattack on Minnesota water systems, instead attacking Democratic Governor Walz as deeply incompetent. Federal and local law-enforcement officials had named Iran among suspects in the coordinated intrusion, but Washington had issued no formal attribution.

Hamas Conditionally Agrees to Disarm; Israel Is Silent and Its Right Wing Resists

A fractured arch symbolizes the fragility of a peace framework.
Original Chinese illustration · English guideAn empty, cracked classical arch stands above shattered ground and spreading black smoke-like fissures. It symbolizes a fragile diplomatic framework and the difficulty of implementation. No substantive labels, values, units or measured series appear.

Gaza saw a key diplomatic breakthrough. After nearly 10 months of hard bargaining, Hamas and the Board of Peace reached agreement in principle on disarmament. Trump celebrated the historic agreement on Truth Social as an important step toward lasting peace and security.

Senior negotiator Hamad confirmed it to CNN but called it an indivisible package. Hamas would take no weapons-collection steps until Israel fully ceased fire and targeted killings, withdrew beyond the Yellow Line and allowed large-scale unobstructed aid. Heavy weapons would be sealed under international stabilization-force supervision, rather than destroyed or decommissioned. Hamad said first-phase implementation had been terrible, accusing Israel of hundreds or thousands of violations.

Israel's reaction was cold and divided. Netanyahu remained silent. Hours before Trump's announcement, senior officials had rejected a core condition, insisting on no retreat from the current Yellow Line before complete disarmament. The current Israeli line had effectively taken at least 4% more of Gaza than the October ceasefire boundary. Right-wing allies strongly objected: Ben-Gvir rejected any third-party compromise and Struk called the agreement extremely dangerous. A source said Netanyahu privately expected Hamas to breach terms and was unlikely to object publicly, but the military would not withdraw before October's election.

Opposition leader Eisenkot said Netanyahu's silence raised widespread concern over whether major agreement details were being hidden from Israelis. A US official said Trump would be extremely disappointed if Israel refused the plan, while expressing confidence it would ultimately comply.

Germany, France, the UK, EU, Canada and Saudi Arabia welcomed the agreement cautiously, all emphasizing implementation and field-verification challenges. Guterres called it perhaps the only positive news amid recent geopolitical crises.

The Board of Peace published a revised 15-point roadmap, shortened from 20, specifying phased Hamas disarmament and conditions for the Gaza interim administrative committee to assume governance.

Hormuz: Tanker Struck as Traffic Falls to Single Digits

Hormuz traffic falls to five vessels against 130 prewar, with a tanker hit and oil near $88/$82.
Original Chinese illustration · English guideStrait of Hormuz: shipping plunges and a tanker is attacked. Thursday crossings five versus a prewar daily average of 130, all on Iran-approved northern routes. Brent approximately $88 per barrel and WTI $82; shipping has not completely stopped. An illustrated vessel is hit by an unidentified projectile. The price boxes are separate benchmarks, not a single sequential decline from $88 to $82.

UKMTO received a Friday report that a commercial tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile about 12 miles northeast of Lima, Oman, near the strait's southern entrance. Its engine room was damaged and propulsion control lost, without casualties. UKMTO named no attacker.

Commercial passage continued toward a standstill: only five merchant vessels crossed Thursday, all using Iran's designated northern route, versus a prewar average near 130 daily. National Security Council secretary Zolghadr said Tehran would further tighten announced closure and control measures because the US continued blockading Iranian ports. CENTCOM countered that the strait remained open to commercial shipping and Iran did not control it.

Oil retreated Friday, Brent toward $88 and WTI toward $82 per barrel. Deutsche Bank analysts said shipping was severely disrupted but not completely halted, while both sides were still deliberately avoiding a move from low-intensity friction to full war.

Southern Lebanon Fighting Resumes; Leaders Confront Each Other

Opposing networks divided by a fracture suggest conflict and fragile communication.
Original Chinese illustration · English guideAbstract opposing circular systems separated by a jagged fracture, with connected nodes, dark radiating lines and a red link across the divide. This illustrates confrontation, surveillance and fragile connections. No material text, numbers, dates, units or quantitative relationship is supplied.

Prime Minister Salam condemned recent Israeli demolition, shelling and systematic destruction in southern Lebanon as blatant violations of the ceasefire, sovereignty and international law.

Netanyahu and Katz had jointly announced detonation of approximately 700 tonnes of explosives in the southern Beaufort area to destroy an alleged Hezbollah tunnel network. President Aoun also condemned devastating damage across southern villages. Lebanese leaders jointly accused Israel's bombardment of affecting UNESCO-listed world heritage sites.

Live Highlights

Abstract circuitry and a fractured ink arc evoke converging conflict pressures.
Original Chinese illustration · English guideCircuit-like lines collide with a broad ink arc around a fractured center, suggesting technological, military and diplomatic pressures converging. The image is conceptual and contains no substantive text, numerical values, periods or chart axes.
Key Developments (Beijing Time)
08-01 12:45CNN recap: US plans wider weekend strikes, Trump warns of heavy attacks, and Hamas agrees in principle to disarmament.
08-01 12:08An unidentified projectile damages a tanker at Hormuz's entrance, leaving it out of control without casualties.
08-01 06:07US officials: strikes could resume as early as the weekend, with nuclear sites among options and energy targets possible.
08-01 04:00The UN secretary-general calls the Hamas agreement the only good news in recent days and urges ceasefires across Middle Eastern fronts.
08-01 02:39Lebanon's prime minister and president condemn systematic destruction in the south, including damage to world heritage sites.
08-01 01:14Israel's UN ambassador says Hamas must first complete substantive disarmament; a superficial plan will not work.
08-01 00:53The Board of Peace releases the revised 15-point roadmap with phased disarmament and governance-transfer conditions.
08-01 00:44Trump says the US will strike heavily until Iran is willing to return to talks.
08-01 00:22Trump claims some agreement with Israel on the Gaza framework but avoids the order of key preconditions.
08-01 00:07Gaza residents express deep skepticism, saying an agreement remaining on paper is merely useless ink.
07-31 23:48Trump downplays Iran's connection to the Minnesota cyberattack and instead attacks the Democratic governor.
07-31 23:26CNN analysis: Hamas's disarmament agreement is a major milestone, but the hardest implementation bargaining is only beginning.
07-31 22:00Iran's maritime authorities say passage can gradually resume after stabilization; CENTCOM counters that the strait remains open.
07-31 21:50Israeli officials say forces will not retreat from the current Yellow Line before genuine Hamas disarmament.
07-31 21:37Gaza health officials confirm continued Friday Israeli attacks in northern and southern areas, wounding several Palestinian civilians.
07-31 20:47Netanyahu remains silent on the Gaza disarmament agreement as far-right coalition allies strongly resist.
07-31 20:33A US official says Trump would be extremely disappointed if Israel failed to comply with the peace plan.
07-31 19:46Kuwait says it intercepted Iranian drones; Iran had claimed an attack on Jaber Air Base.
07-31 19:19Trump holds his 13th cabinet meeting at Camp David, focusing on Middle Eastern fighting.
07-31 18:56Germany, France, Britain, Canada, Saudi Arabia and others cautiously welcome the Hamas agreement and stress implementation and verification.
07-31 18:22A Hamas official accepts conditional disarmament, with heavy weapons sealed under international supervision rather than destroyed.
07-31 18:02Only five merchant ships crossed Hormuz Thursday, all on Iran's designated route; Bab el-Mandeb recorded 47.
07-31 17:06Brent falls near $88 and WTI near $82; Deutsche Bank notes oil shipping has not completely stopped.
07-31 16:50No new overnight strikes are reported in Iran, contrasting with Wednesday night's heavy US wave.
07-31 15:53Trump first declares a historic full-disarmament agreement. Hamas has not yet formally confirmed at that time, and Islamic Jihad calls it untrue.
07-31 15:11Economists warn of record Iranian inflation, with half the population experiencing a year of 100% inflation. The UN projects more than 4.1 million people falling into absolute poverty.