Morning recap

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

US President Donald Trump said he views the Strait of Hormuz as “an American territory” and reiterated that the US “cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon”.

His remarks came hours after he said he did not think that Iran was ready make the "right deal," and that Washington was observing "what happens" in the war.

Tehran, meanwhile, said that new US sanctions against Iran amounted to a “declaration of war” on all nations and went beyond “an illegal economic war against a single nation”.

Here are the latest developments from across the region:

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said US President Donald Trump’s threat to launch the “most crushing economic operation ever” against Iran was “doomed to failure”.

• Israeli forces shelled the town of al-Mansouri, around Bayt al-Sayyad and on the outskirts of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon

• Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz still running at roughly a fifth of pre-war volumes.

• Tanker traffic at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea oil terminal, has fallen by more than a third since Yemen’s Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi vessels through the Bab al-Mandeb strait on July 20.

• Israeli forces entered the village of al-Basali in Syria’s Quneitra region and carried out a search operation in one of the houses before withdrawing from the area.

• Georgia has declined to join the European Union’s latest sanctions against Iran, saying its foreign policy decisions are guided by national interests.