Iran said Monday it is not in talks with the U.S. over control of the Strait of Hormuz, even as President Trump insists that final negotiations could begin as soon as this afternoon.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told a press conference that the only diplomatic conversations Iran is maintaining are with Oman over creating an “understanding on a route that would ensure the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that the strait would remain mostly closed to commercial shipping until the U.S. ends its naval blockade and military aggression against Iran.
At least one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas moves annually through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. Iran announced a full closure of the passage shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February.
While traffic began to return to pre-war levels following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in June, that agreement has since collapsed and commercial traffic in the strait has remained stagnant over the last few weeks.
The strait’s closure has boosted global energy prices. Brent crude oil, the leading global price benchmark for unrefined oil, sat at about $83 a barrel on Monday morning, down from last week’s high of $93 a barrel but far above prewar levels.
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Mr. Baghaei’s comments contradict those made by Mr. Trump on Monday and over the weekend. The president announced Saturday on Truth Social that he had ordered a pause on an imminent strike on Iran after U.S. allies in the Middle East reached an agreement on a framework that would end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In his Saturday announcement, Mr. Trump said Israel “joins me in this commitment,” but key Israeli officials have yet to speak about any incoming deal over the Strait of Hormuz.
Regional reporting suggested that Israeli officials were blindsided by the cancellation of strikes against Iran and were informed of the decision via Mr. Trump’s post on Truth Social.
There were no major new military strikes in the region following Mr. Trump’s announcement.
Mr. Trump on Monday followed up his announcement by saying that a final Iran war deal is within reach and that negotiations could take place as early as Monday afternoon.
Turkey’s state-run media outlet Anadolu Agency reported Monday that the U.S. and Iran would soon begin indirect negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz but would not discuss the nuclear issue.
Islamabad, Pakistan, and Doha, Qatar, are being considered as sites for direct negotiations if the first stage of talks is productive, according to regional reports.
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