Trump claims Iran talks will start Monday, and other developments in the Middle East

CAIRO (AP) — After calling off a fresh round of strikes against Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that new talks to wind down the war would start Monday, even as Iranian officials claimed their diplomatic efforts were focused on neighboring nations.

Talks between the U.S. and Iran are critical to ending the monthslong conflict and reviving stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed before the war.

But Iran's foreign ministry said it's negotiating with Oman, not the U.S., prompting Trump to criticize the country's leadership, which has grown increasingly divided over the war's endgame.

Trump, who has made a habit of threatening strikes on Iran only to dangle the prospect of a last-minute diplomatic reprieve, said Monday that whether "Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking."

Elsewhere, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip and the Syrian president met in Damascus with the Iraqi Kurdish regional leader over security concerns. In Iran, the government executed two men it claimed were Israeli spies.

Here is a look at the most important developments Monday in the Middle East.

Trump announces renewed talks

Trump said Sunday that he decided against carrying out major strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He said a plan was in place for U.S. forces to carry out "the biggest attack since World War II," but he decided to give diplomacy more time after hearing from key Gulf leaders and fielding requests from unnamed Iranian officials. He did not provide further details or say who would be involved in the talks.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry maintained that the country was not currently holding negotiations with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei, an agency spokesperson, said Monday that ongoing talks were with Oman, the country on the other side of the strait, and were focused only on establishing a temporary route for safe navigation through the channel.

READ MORE: Fact-checking Trump's claims about how the Iran war is going

Nine vessels transited through the strait Sunday, most of them using an Iranian-controlled route, according to trade data and analytics platform Kpler.

Trump voiced frustration at Iran's public posturing.

"Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!" the U.S. president vented on Truth Social, his social media platform. "They ask for a meeting, some would say "beg," talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they're not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they're only dealing with 'Oman.'"

Iran's top delegates head to Iraq and Pakistan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived Monday in Iraq's holy city of Najaf to participate in the Arbaeen commemorations, an annual pilgrimage for Shiite Muslims, his office said on social media.

Araghchi's trip comes as Iraq has been walking a tightrope between Iran and the U.S., an act that has only grown more fraught since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran in February.

Meanwhile the country's trade minister headed Monday to Pakistan for an official visit expected to focus in part on ways to ease transit bottlenecks and move more Iranian containers through Pakistani ports during the U.S. naval blockade.

Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak was scheduled to attend a meeting of the Iran-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee in Islamabad and to meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the two-day trip.

Syrian and Iraqi leaders discuss security concerns

Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Iraq's Kurdish regional president met Monday in Damascus to discuss ways of improving mutual cooperation and contributing to regional security.

The meeting between al-Sharaa and Nechirvan Barzani came amid regional tensions as Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups carried out multiple drone strikes targeting American interests across Iraq, including the country's Kurdish region.

Syrian state media reported last month that authorities at the country's border with Iraq thwarted an attempt in June to smuggle weapons believed to have been headed to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Hezbollah denied the charges.

Iran executes 2 men it says spied for Israel

Iran's judiciary said it executed two men Monday after convicting them of spying for Israel during both last year's 12-day war and the ongoing conflict.

The judiciary's Mizan news agency identified the two as Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat, who were accused of providing military coordinates, images and other intelligence used in attacks on Iranian targets. It did not specify where the executions took place.

Last week, Iran publicly hanged two men convicted of killing four police officers during nationwide anti-government protests in January.

Israel strikes Gaza despite deal to disarm Hamas

Attacks on Gaza by Israel over the weekend left at least 17 people dead, including children, according to hospitals in Gaza.

A strike on a residential apartment in southern Gaza killed three family members, including a 4-year-old child, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies arrived.

The Israeli military said the strikes targeted militants.

The bombardment comes days after the U.S. and Hamas said a deal was reached for the militant group to disarm, a potential step toward ending the war in Gaza.

Gaza's residents swelter in tents

Watch the segment in the player above.

Soaring temperatures in Gaza this summer have turned the makeshift tents sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into suffocating ovens. Made of plastic sheets, the shelters trap heat during the day and offer little ventilation, forcing many families to spend hours outside.

The extreme weather compounds an already dire humanitarian crisis. With limited access to clean water, electricity and sanitation, overcrowded camps are grappling with flies, mosquitoes and other insects. Humanitarian agencies such as the Norwegian Refugee Council warn that the conditions heighten the risk of dehydration, heat-related illnesses and the spread of skin infections, diarrheal diseases and other communicable illnesses.

"It's very hot. We can't stay inside the tents. Our tent is made of nylon," said Aida Abu Hadeesha, a woman displaced from the town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt. "There is no breeze, nothing, and our kids are suffering," she said, adding that the stifling heat continued all night. "The flies and the cockroaches attack us."

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece and Boak from Washington. Associated Press reporters Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Philip Marcelo in New York also contributed to this report.