The United States was hopeful that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be done “today or tomorrow”, a top official said yesterday, sending oil prices tumbling on optimism for increased shipments in the vital waterway.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told broadcaster CNBC “there is a chance we may have a deal” in the coming hours, echoing remarks from President Donald Trump the day before.
Speaking from the White House on Monday, Trump kept up his now familiar combination of optimism for diplomacy and bellicose threats, warning that this was Iran’s “last chance before decapitation”.
Underlining the fragility of the situation, one crew member was listed missing yesterday on a merchant ship hit by a projectile in Hormuz, with fire erupting in the accommodation area. To Page 5
In what has become a regular pattern, Trump last week threatened to hit Iran “very hard”, potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back later, hinting that a deal was near.
But Iran’s foreign ministry denied negotiations with Washington were taking place, even as Trump insisted they were happening “right now”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the United States was involved in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the Hormuz.
“There’s been progress made in those talks but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly,” he told journalists.
Trump had previously said he expected to know by yesterday how the talks were going, “one way or the other”, but insisted “it’s not very complex”.
Early yesterday, Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO said an unnamed cargo vessel had been struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman.
Iran continues to impose an effective blockade on the strait and insists ships coordinate crossings with it.
Yesterday, the Indian ship MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank in the Red Sea off Yemen following an unattributed attack, with all of its crew rescued, according to India’s foreign ministry and a local official in Yemen.
“The targeting of commercial shipping in the region must end,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said.