Day 160 of the WarThursday, August 6, 2026
Day 160 — Blasts Rattle Hormuz and Qeshm as Deal Terms Leak; Riyadh Warns of an IRGC-Directed Attack Plot
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Strait of Hormuz / QeshmWashington / Muscat / TehranRiyadh / TehranTehranIran
A Leader No One Sees — Health Rumors and Kharazi's 'More Radical Than His Father'
Iran- Two sources close to the Pezeshkian government told IranWire that Mojtaba Khamenei has not met any cabinet member since the U.S. strike on the Leader's residence that killed his father, and that rumors he is in very poor health circulate at the top of the regime.source
- Hezbollah Iran chief Mohammad Bagher Kharazi said Mojtaba Khamenei's thinking is 'much more radical than his father's,' claimed years of close friendship with him, and predicted Pezeshkian's government will not reach the end of its term, per Iran International.source
- In the second part of his TV interview, Pezeshkian said Iran's enemies expected the country to collapse under pressure, admitted that without oil sales there is less foreign currency and more problems, and said fixes 'won't happen quickly,' Open Source Intel reports.source
'About Three Thousand' — Pezeshkian Recasts the Uprising as Arrests for Online Posts Continue
Iran- In his 'Report to the People' interview, Pezeshkian called the winter uprising 'riots,' put the number killed at 'about three thousand,' and labeled those citing higher tolls 'dishonorable' and 'traitors to the homeland,' Iran International reports.source
- Police in Behshahr, Mazandaran, arrested six people for 'disturbing public opinion' and 'propaganda against the system' online, and Yazd's prosecutor said a person who sent footage of Iranian missile launches to Persian-language media abroad was jailed, per RadioFarda.source
- An audio message from Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, a 19-year-old political prisoner in Greater Tehran Prison, urging people to be the voice of political prisoners and not forget them, has spread widely amid a wave of heavy sentences for young protesters, per Iran International.source
Explosions in the Strait — and IRGC Claims of 'Hostile Targets' off Qeshm
Gulf & Naval- A tanker master reported hearing two explosions while transiting Hormuz 9 nautical miles southeast of Kumzar, Oman; crew and vessel are safe, and UKMTO downgraded its attack warning to an advisory after it could not identify the intended target, per Open Source Intel.source
- IRGC-affiliated Tasnim said an explosion heard in Qeshm came from countering 'hostile targets' at the entrance to Hormuz, while a Hormozgan official said no injuries were reported in Qeshm or Bandar Abbas, per Iran International; Iranian media claimed the IRGC struck two targets.source
- CENTCOM said Marine Corps aviation aboard USS Boxer is supporting the blockade; as of August 6, U.S. forces have redirected 49 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two.source
- Maritime intelligence firm Windward says only 12 vessels crossed Hormuz in the 24 hours to early August 5 — six in, six out — against roughly 140 a day before the disruption, with three ships switching off AIS at night in the southern corridor, per Iran International.source
Riyadh Warns of an IRGC-Directed Attack Plot as Tehran Hardliners Push a Hormuz Ban
Gulf & Naval- A senior Saudi official told Reuters that Saudi, U.S. and regional intelligence indicate Iraqi militants, coordinating with the Houthis under IRGC direction, are preparing imminent attacks on the kingdom's energy sites, ports and airports, per Iran International.source
- Speaking to Al Arabiya, the Saudi official called the reports shocking given Riyadh's push for calm while negotiations proceed positively, and said the kingdom will not hesitate to take the necessary steps against any aggression, Open Source Intel reports.source
- MP Alireza Salimi said a draft bill would bar U.S., Israeli and other 'hostile' ships from Hormuz until Iran's damages are compensated; MP Abbas Goudarzi warned Tehran would fully close the Strait at 'the slightest violation,' per Iran International.source
- Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari attacked Deputy FM Gharibabadi's remarks on the Oman understanding, writing that opening the waterway amounts to 'opening a path for the enemy to flee' and would squander one of Tehran's key levers, per Iran International.source
Deal Terms Leak as Washington Draws Its Red Lines
Global- Al Arabiya, citing informed sources, says the 60-day Iran-Oman draft charges no tolls or service fees, sends inbound ships along the lane closer to Iran and outbound closer to Oman, and could be announced after approval by Iran's Supreme National Security Council, per Iran International.source
- A Foreign Ministry source told Fars that after the set period the northern and southern corridors would close and all traffic would use the central corridor, with Iran managing entry and exit handled under joint management, per Iran International.source
- Al-Hurra, citing a U.S. official, reports Washington will not accept any Hormuz deal requiring permission, tolls, or handing control of commercial shipping to Iran, stressing the Strait is an international waterway, per Iran International.source
- Trump said he is personally involved in the Hormuz talks, which are going well, but declined to announce a deal, calling the waterway 'somewhat open' and saying control rests with the United States under the Navy's blockade, Iran International reports.source