Iran said Monday that there weren’t any talks under way with the U.S. nor were any meetings planned, after President Trump said he had called off a major strike on the country to provide more time for negotiations on freeing up traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Strategic Intent
The statement underscores a maximalist approach to the conflict. By offering only two paths—a strict new deal or total surrender—the U.S. administration signaled its intent to maintain overwhelming military and economic pressure rather than accepting a minor diplomatic compromise. Meanwhile, Iran has consistently rejected demands for unconditional surrender, leading to a deeply uncertain outlook for regional diplomacy. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Iran says no talks with the US on Hormuz Strait
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday.© Reuters
“We were all set to go, but when the allies asked to call it off, you got to sort of say, ‘Well, let’s see,’” he told reporters Sunday.
- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected Trump’s suggestion that talks were under way, noting that Iran hadn’t sent any delegations or negotiators to take part in any discussions.
- He said all of Iran’s negotiators were still in the country, with the exception of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting a religious site in Iraq.
“Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry did, however, acknowledge that Iran was continuing talks with Oman on how to manage the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the center of the stalemate between Washington and Tehran.
The discussions between the two countries bordering the strait have grown more significant in recent days, with both Oman and Iran noting there had been some progress.
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After hinting that the U.S.
- Iranian state media earlier cited Araghchi, the foreign minister, as saying that discussions on creating a mechanism for ships to pass the Strait of Hormuz were “nearing completion and in their final stages.”
- Trump, too, had suggested the discussions are making some headway. He wrote in a social-media post Saturday night that Iran and other Middle East countries had urged him to cancel his attack because the “perimeters of a deal” had been hammered out.
- According to the proposal from the mediators, Persian Gulf-bound ships will enter via Iranian waters and exit via Omani waters without paying fees, they said.
- ranian diplomats initially reacted positively to the latest proposal, but later demanded guarantees that attacks on Iran wouldn’t resume and that sanctions on its oil would be lifted, the mediators said.
- Mediators were also still waiting for a response from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the paramilitary group that holds the levers of power in Iran.
1 If a temporary agreement is reached on the strategic waterway, negotiations will move to revive the initial memorandum of understanding to resolve the conflict over the strait for 60 days, they said, adding that Pakistan has proposed to host the next round of talks between Iran and the U.S.
2 The talks between Oman and Iran are focused on finding temporary arrangements over shipping transits in the strait, a move that would ease the reopening of the waterway and help mediators restart talks over a preliminary peace deal.
3 Regional countries have also asked the mediators that any agreement should include guarantees that neither Iran nor its proxies will pose threats to their territories, according to senior Arab officials familiar with the matter.
International oil prices were about 5% lower early Monday on hopes that an agreement to finally reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached, with prices for Brent crude falling to around $84 a barrel.
Uncertainty for the talks’ success continues, however. Earlier efforts failed to gain much traction and if they again stall there remains the prospect that Trump will return to his threats of a massive military strike.
There is also the question of whether the IRGC would agree to any deal to open up the Hormuz strait that doesn’t hand Iran total control of the waterway.
The British Navy’s marine-traffic monitoring agency, UKMTO, reported that on late Sunday the master of a tanker 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman reported hearing an explosion in close proximity to the vessel.
“The vessel and crew are all reported as safe. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” it said.
Write to Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
