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Day 161 of the WarFriday, August 7, 2026

Day 161 — Kharg Falls Silent Under the Blockade, Bessent Sees a Deal Within Days, and IranWire Says Mojtaba Is Critically Ill

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Kharg Island / Strait of HormuzWashington / TehranRiyadh / BaghdadTehranIran

Mojtaba Reported Critically Ill as Kharazi Calls for Seizing Tehran

Iran
  • Two sources close to the Pezeshkian administration told IranWire that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in extremely critical condition and could pass away at any moment, Open Source Intel reports; there was no official confirmation.source
  • Babak Taghvaee reports hardline cleric Mohammad Bagher Kharazi is calling on IRGC and Basij members to seize control of Tehran, confront security forces who try to stop them, and abolish the presidency, claiming Mojtaba Khamenei's backing.source
  • At Friday prayers, Ahvaz's Mousavi-Jahromi claimed Iran is preparing to extend missile range to 15,000 km to hit 'America's depth,' while Mashhad's Alam-ol-Hoda branded those calling for an end to the war 'hypocrites,' per Iran International and RadioFarda.source

A Cleric's Threat to Unveiled Women, a School in a Basij Base, and a Blinded Protester

Iran
  • Masih Alinejad says Kharazi, one of Mojtaba Khamenei's closest associates, openly urges Basijis and morality police to return to the streets and assault unveiled women, describing his remarks as a call to kill women over the hijab.source
  • Messages from citizens to Iran International say a school has been set up in a building belonging to a Basij base in Shahrekord, drawing protests over the mixing of classrooms with military sites; images earlier showed a Basij base beside a school in Arak.source
  • RadioFarda speaks with Farideh Salavati, blinded in both eyes by security forces' pellet fire in Sanandaj in November 2022 during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising; she is now in Germany for treatment, with dozens of pellets still in her face and neck.source

Kharg Falls Silent — the Blockade Appears to Halt Iran's Crude Exports

Gulf & Naval
  • The FT reports no tankers have loaded at Kharg Island, Iran's main oil terminal, for about a week — the longest disruption since the war began — and that Tehran appears to be cutting output to avoid overfilling storage, per Open Source Intel; Sentinel-2 images from August 4 show empty berths.source
  • ADNOC said 15 of its vessels have been hit by missile and drone attacks while transiting Hormuz since the war began, three of them this week, killing one person and injuring 20 crew members, Iran International reports.source
  • CENTCOM said the destroyer USS Mason is on station supporting the blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas; as of August 7, U.S. forces have redirected 51 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two.source
  • Treasury Secretary Bessent said the Strait 'is never going back to the way it was' and will become irrelevant within two years, predicting that 50 to 70% of the energy now moving through it will shift to underground pipelines, Open Source Intel reports.source

Iraq Moves to Head Off a Strike on Saudi Arabia as a New Regional Pact Is Signed

Gulf & Naval
  • Al Arabiya, quoting a senior Saudi official, reported that several credible intelligence assessments point to the Houthis, Iraqi 'resistance' groups and the IRGC coordinating attacks on Saudi Arabia within the next 48 hours, per LiveIranNews.source
  • Iraq's armed forces spokesman said a security plan to thwart a potential attack on Saudi Arabia is under way, and an Iraqi official told Iran International the government is close to dealing a 'final blow' to Iran-backed militias, which may also target Kuwait, Jordan and Syria.source
  • Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a trilateral defense pact dubbed the 'Mecca Agreement' amid the Hormuz crisis, Iran International reports.source
  • Deputy FM Gharibabadi told IRNA that some southern Gulf states not only let the U.S. use their territory in the 40-day war but in a few cases attacked Iran directly, and that Tehran has documented and registered these cases with the UN Security Council, per RadioFarda.source

'Today or Tomorrow' Again — and a U.S. Pledge to Lift the Blockade After a Deal

Global
  • Bessent told Israel's 12 News a deal could come 'today or tomorrow' — a 30- to 60-day ceasefire and a reopened Strait — adding that food inflation in Iran has hit 150 to 180% and the regime struggles to pay military salaries, per RadioFarda and Iran International.source
  • A U.S. official told Reuters the Iran-Oman talks are progressing and Washington expects a deal soon; once unhindered commercial passage through Hormuz is announced, the United States will lift its maritime blockade of Iran, per Iran International.source
  • Hassan Qashqavi told IRIB the general framework of the Iran-Oman agreement on Hormuz has been agreed, and a joint statement outlining it will be issued once 'higher levels' give their final opinion, Iran International reports.source
  • In the final part of his TV interview, Pezeshkian said 'to survive, we must know when to fight and when to make peace,' claimed 12 of 13 Supreme National Security Council members voted for the Islamabad text, and denied any rift with the armed forces, per Iran International.source

Sources