US to assess prospects for resuming Ukraine talks in coming weeks — Rubio

On 2 August 2026, Trump said the US and Israel had called off a planned major strike on Iran, saying the 'perimeters' of a deal to end the war had been reached. He said the US was 'locked and loaded' but would hold off in hope of a quick deal. He also said he cancelled the strikes at the request of Middle East allies; Saudi Arabia's crown prince had voiced concern to Trump about reported strike plans.

Iran denied asking the US to pause strikes and called Trump's words a lie, and said there were no talks with the US over Hormuz and that the strait would stay closed. Earlier, US embassies had issued alerts after Trump vowed to hit Iran 'hard'. Separately, Rubio said the US will assess the prospects for resuming Ukraine talks in the coming weeks.