A struck tanker burns in the Strait of Hormuz, Ukraine's drones hit Russian warehouses again, US states sue over tariffs, and the EU spares Spain from Schengen sanctions over Ceuta.
Iran's government said no talks with the United States are happening, despite President Trump's claim that negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz (a key oil shipping route) would begin Monday; Iran says it has only spoken with Oman, and it executed two more men accused of spying for Israel.
On 2 August, several countries bypassed joint decision-making to act on their own.
Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv for the second time in two days, killing at least nine people.
Nearly 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into Spain's Ceuta enclave in a single day, with at least 19 drowning in the attempt.
A Russian cruise missile crossed into Poland and crashed near the Ukrainian border during a night attack that killed at least eight people in Ukraine, prompting Poland to scramble fighter jets.
Iran fired missiles again and seized three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, while the US and Saudi Arabia struck Iran-backed fighters in Iraq, pushing oil prices up 7% and prompting Britain to build a naval coalition to protect shipping.
This week Washington hosts high-stakes meetings linking two wars: Trump meets Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, while the Pentagon extends Ukraine aid planning to 2029 and the Senate considers sanctions on buyers of Russian and Iranian oil.
On his first day hosting a foreign leader, Britain's new prime minister Andy Burnham welcomed Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, keeping UK support for Kyiv unchanged and hinting at closer ties with the European Union.
The United States stopped its nightly bombing of Iran, most likely because it is running short of the missiles it uses to shoot down attacks, not because of any peace deal.
The day's thread runs through every story: threats are being issued and ignored. A US interdiction inside the Strait of Hormuz, a second Romanian drone shoot-down, and a new EU strategy paper on China all point the same way — deterrence is failing in several theatres at once.
The day's coverage in 90 seconds: Washington ties an EU fine to tariffs, China hits back over Russia sanctions, oil breaks $100 as the Gulf war widens, and Brussels opens fresh regulatory fronts.