Key Highlights

  • Iran's foreign minister said Tehran is not currently engaged in direct talks with the United States, though he noted that messages are being exchanged through intermediaries.
  • Iran clarified that even if it reaches a transit agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, reopening the waterway would still depend on separate conditions being met by the United States.
  • President Trump said Washington is "low-keying" negotiations with Iran, citing the country's high Inflation and economic strain as reasons to avoid escalating.
  • The current diplomatic stall follows earlier statements from the Treasury Secretary and Secretary of State suggesting a deal to reopen the strait could be reached within days.

Iran Denies Direct Talks Are Underway With the US

Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that Tehran is not currently engaged in direct talks with the United States to end the broader conflict or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report from Iran's Mehr news agency. He added that "messages are being exchanged through intermediaries," suggesting some indirect channel of communication remains open even without formal direct negotiations. The comments came despite earlier assertions from Washington that an agreement was close.

A brief pause in fighting between the United States and Iran followed a June 17th memorandum of understanding between the two countries, but was followed by weeks of renewed Iranian drone and missile attacks on shipping in the strait and on neighboring Gulf countries, along with US counterstrikes on Iranian targets.

Oman Agreement Would Not Alone Reopen the Strait, Iran Clarifies

Iran's foreign minister also addressed the relationship between ongoing talks with Oman and the broader question of reopening the strait, saying that even if Iran and Oman reach an agreement on a transit route, doing so would not itself mean the strait reopens. "Talks with Oman do not mean the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened," he said. "An agreement may be reached, but reopening the strait depends on other conditions conveyed through intermediaries." He had said a day earlier that Iran and Oman, which both border the waterway, were close to an agreement on navigation, specifically the determination of a transit route, but the latest comments clarify that such an arrangement would be distinct from a full reopening tied to Iran's broader conditions involving the United States.

Oman has served as a key interlocutor in the dispute, particularly on the question of the strait, which carries about a fifth of the world's energy supplies.

Trump Signals Patience as Earlier Deal Timeline Passes

President Trump said in an interview published Sunday that the United States is "low-keying it" in its approach to negotiations with Iran. "We are only semi-negotiating with them," he said. "We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money. It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game." The comments mark a shift from earlier in the week, when the Treasury Secretary told a financial news outlet that an agreement to open Hormuz with freedom of movement could come as soon as that Wednesday, a timeline that has since passed without a finalized deal. The Secretary of State had also indicated at the time that an agreement was imminent.