Cairo: Iran and Oman are inching toward a deal to reopen the disputed Strait of Hormuz and potentially help bring an end to the war.
The emerging agreement calls for ships to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, two regional officials told The Associated Press.
Any deal, though, appears contingent on the United States lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait.
Elsewhere, a mass funeral was held in Gaza City for more than 100 people killed in an Israeli strike early in the conflict. A memorial service was also held in Beirut, for victims of a 2020 port explosion, and Yemen’s Houthis claimed they fired at a Saudi Arabian airport.
Here is a look at the most important developments in the Middle East on Tuesday:
Trump warns Iran of hard hit if Hormuz Strait stays shut
US President Donald Trump said that Iran will be “hit very hard” if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened “very soon.”
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the United States is “having very good discussions” with Iran. But Tehran denied it is having any talks with Washington.
Trump earlier warned that he was giving Iran a “last chance before decapitation”, he said that they were talking about opening the Strait of Hormuz “literally by tomorrow”.
“I mean they’re going to go quickly, one way or the other. It’s not very complex”, he said on Monday at the Oval Office.
“We’re talking about the Strait, the opening of the Strait, having it open, literally by tomorrow”, he said, but Iran has denied there were any talks with the US.
The contradictory claims leave the gateway to the world for 20 per cent of fossil fuels trapped in uncertainty.
“We are not holding any negotiations with the United States at present”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a news briefing in Tehran.
Speaking a few hours before Trump, he said that except for Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is on a pilgrimage to Iraq, all the negotiators were in Iran.
Trump dismissed it, writing on Truth Social, “Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous” because after they “beg” for a meeting “they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions”.
Baqaei did say that Iran was in consultations with Oman, which is across from it on the Strait, for what the Iranian news agency Tasnim described as a “temporary arrangement that would ensure maritime safety in the strategic waterway”.
He said that no other country was involved in Muscat-Tehran talks.
Trump said Iran was spooked by leaks about the planned attack, “very very hard, harder than any” since World War II and pleaded,”We want to talk. We want to talk about the Strait”.
A Memorandum of Understanding on opening the Strait, where shipping was disrupted after the bombing of Iran, was signed by Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on June 17, but unravelled within weeks after Iran attacked ships in the Strait and the US blockaded Iranian ports.
US officials suggest strait deal imminent
Senior US officials struck an optimistic tone on Tuesday, suggesting a deal to reopen the strait could be reached soon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman, “but not finality yet”.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that “there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalised position in this conflict”.
The Strait of Hormuz is the crucial waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war. It has been effectively shut by Iran’s attacks on shipping since the start of the war in February.
Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said he also spoke to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday as the Arab country tries to broker a resolution to the war.
Al Thani’s office said in a statement that on the phone call, the two discussed ways to bridge the divide “in a way that enhances the prospects of reaching a sustainable diplomatic settlement to the crisis”.
Ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz and in Red Sea
A cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” while traversing the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.
The centre said the reported strike damaged the vessel at around 2 am local time while it was about 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Al Khasab, a port city in Oman.
It is unclear what flag the ship was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo, but the British maritime security firm Ambrey said the ship sustained damage.
On the Red Sea, meanwhile, an Indian-flagged commercial ship sank off Yemen after being struck by an explosive-laden boat, Yemeni and Indian authorities said.
Yemen’s coast guard rescued the crew, which included 13 Indians and a Yemeni.
India’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, though no one immediately claimed responsibility. Iran-backed Houthi militants have repeatedly struck ships traversing the Red Sea near Yemen.
US says southern route through Strait of Hormuz remains open
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said the southern route through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial shipping, despite what it described as continued Iranian aggression, adding that US forces have helped more than 1,000 vessels safely transit the waterway over the past three months.
In a post on X, US CENTCOM said, “The southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels seeking to transit the international waterway. Over the past three months, U.S. forces have assisted more than 1,000 vessels in successfully transiting the strait despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, and these transits continue today.”
The statement comes amid heightened tensions in the Gulf, where concerns over maritime security and the uninterrupted flow of global trade have intensified in recent months. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The latest update from CENTCOM follows continued US efforts to safeguard navigation in the region as Washington maintains a strong military presence to ensure the free movement of commercial shipping through international waters.
Earlier, CENTCOM highlighted its ongoing maritime operations in the Gulf, saying, “A U.S. Sailor stands watch in the combat information center aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) as the amphibious assault ship sails in regional waters while supporting the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of Aug. 4, U.S. forces have redirected 45 commercial vessels, disabled 2 and boarded 2 to ensure compliance.”
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that Washington was engaged in talks with Iran and expressed optimism that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached within days.
“We are in talks with the Iranians, and I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalised position in this conflict,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Responding to a question on whether Iran would be allowed to levy tolls on vessels using the Strait of Hormuz, Bessent said, “It would be freedom of movement.”
He added that shipping and commodity prices were expected to decline further once hundreds of vessels currently stranded in the Gulf were able to resume their journeys. Bessent noted that the disruption had affected not only energy supplies but also fertilisers, refined petroleum products and industrial gases.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that while Washington’s long-term objective remains the denuclearisation of Iran, reopening the Strait of Hormuz is the administration’s immediate priority as diplomatic efforts continue.
Israel discusses withdrawal from Lebanon
Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Rome on Tuesday to continue talks on implementing a US-mediated deal to drawdown the Israeli military from southern Lebanon and disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
A diplomat familiar with the negotiations said Lebanon had asked for the next “pilot zone” — where Israeli forces would withdraw and the Lebanese army would take control — to be either in the town of Khiam or Bint Jbeil. Both areas saw heavy fighting in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war and are currently occupied by Israeli forces.
But US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa suggested ahead of the three-day talks that no new pilot zones would be immediately implemented, saying that “moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect”.
Implementation of the June 26 agreement began last month with an initial pilot zone in an area that was not occupied by Israeli forces but had previously sustained Israeli fire.
Yemen’s Houthis fire at airport in Saudi Arabia
In Yemen, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, said a drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence.
He said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia led an international coalition and imposed an air and sea blockade against the rebels after they seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen in a civil war that began in 2014. Major fighting ended in a truce in 2022.
With inputs from agencies
