Egypt pushes US-Iran talks as Hormuz risks and Israeli strikes deepen tensions

Dubai,UPDATED: Aug 22, 2026 22:06 IST

Egypt is trying to bring Iran and the United States back to negotiations as the wider Middle East remains tense nearly six months after the US and Israel launched the war. At the same time, Iran's president has said the world accepts that his country has won, while France and Saudi Arabia are set to discuss alternative trade and energy routes to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has slowed sharply.

Elsewhere, remarks by a senior US diplomat appeared to differ from Washington's stated position on the Golan Heights, and Israel carried out strikes in both Syria and Gaza on Saturday, according to officials and state media reports.

Egypt's foreign ministry said the top diplomats of Egypt and Iran discussed efforts to return Tehran and Washington to the negotiating table to settle the war. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty also discussed the Iranian-Omani talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry said Araghchi briefed Abdelatty on "Iran's view of ongoing developments, the course of negotiations and their challenges", without giving details. There was no immediate statement from Araghchi.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the war with the US should end because the world had accepted that Iran had won, according to state media on Friday. "The entire world approved our victory and the US is hated," he was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has said it will intensify economic pressure on Iran. US President Donald Trump said his administration would impose an "unprecedented" level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran to force its leadership to meet demands to end its nuclear programme and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In Syria, the state news agency SANA said an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle wounded one person in the southwestern village of Beit Jin on Saturday. Syria's foreign ministry said several civilians were injured and called the strike a flagrant violation of the country's sovereignty. The Israeli military said it had targeted a "terrorist who advanced terror attacks in final stages of preparation", though it was not immediately clear if it was referring to the same strike. Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since the ouster of former president Bashar Assad in late 2024, mainly targeting army assets.

On the Golan Heights, US Ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said in an interview on Friday that Israel "still" occupies the territory in violation of UN resolutions. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Barrack's remarks were "full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict Trump's own position". Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. The UN considers it occupied Syrian land, but in March 2019 Trump signed a proclamation recognising Israeli sovereignty over the territory. This month, Colombia became the second country to do so.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to discuss plans to develop alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz during the Saudi leader's two-day visit to Paris starting Sunday, according to officials in the French presidency. The proposals include increasing trade through Omani ports outside the Persian Gulf, expanding or doubling pipelines in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and developing new rail links. The two countries have also formed a task force on energy and logistics links between the Middle East and Europe, which is due to meet at the ministerial level on Monday. Officials said the work was well advanced and would focus on priority projects, financing and roles for French companies.

In Gaza, health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said an Israeli strike on the backyard of a house in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded another on Saturday. Israel's military said it had targeted Sharif al-Hasanat, a Hamas commander who "advanced terror attacks and took part in efforts to restore Hamas' underground infrastructure". Although the heaviest fighting has eased under the ceasefire that began 10 months ago, Israeli forces have continued airstrikes that have killed at least 1,285 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll.

The latest developments showed parallel diplomatic and military tracks across the region, with Egypt pushing for renewed US-Iran talks, Iran asserting it had prevailed, France and Saudi Arabia exploring ways around the Strait of Hormuz, and fresh Israeli strikes and political disagreements adding to tensions in Syria, Gaza and over the Golan Heights.

With PTI Inputs

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