Overview
- President Donald Trump said he called off a planned “massive” military strike and described negotiations as beginning, calling this Iran’s “last chance” and placing reopening the Strait of Hormuz first in a two‑phase plan, according to his Monday statements.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it is not negotiating with the United States and that current contacts are with Oman on technical arrangements for a shipping route, a position repeated by multiple Iranian spokespeople in official statements.
- Mediators in Muscat report progress on Iran‑Oman talks that would create a new maritime route acceptable to both sides, but Tehran insists such an arrangement does not equal a full reopening of the strait.
- A vessel reported being struck near the Strait of Hormuz and shipping transits remain sharply reduced, underscoring continuing security risks to seaborne trade and prompting volatile market moves, including a sharp drop in oil prices on hopes of de‑escalation.
- Gulf states and regional mediators have pressed for diplomacy to delay further U.S. strikes, but the clash over who controls Hormuz and Iran’s public denial of U.S. talks leave the outcome uncertain and the risk to regional stability high.