Abdullah Bandar Al-Etabi, assistant professor of international affairs at Qatar University, said it is too early to judge the direction after Trump’s latest Iran remarks. Both sides remain entrenched and Iran has not softened its stance on the Strait of Hormuz, so the risk of broader conflict persists. Recent developments have, however, bought diplomatic time for Iran to pursue arrangements with regional states over the Strait and for diplomacy to restart.

State Grid Co. said recent widespread heat drove record electricity loads across its operating area, with the North China and Northeast regional grids and provincial grids in Tianjin, northern Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning and eastern Inner Mongolia repeatedly hitting new peaks between July 27-31. The company said it is prioritizing supply security, intensifying use of cross-provincial/trans‑regional transmission corridors, conducting inter-regional surplus‑deficit transfers and temporal-spatial load balancing, and tightening operational responsibilities and O&M while implementing a 24-item, six-area peak-summer supply plan to safeguard grid stability and reliable power for economic and residential demand.

Former U.S. vice president Kamala Harris said the Iran war is a conflict incumbent President Trump chose to enter, that he has allied with Israel in the fighting, and that it does not pose a clear U.S. national security threat.