Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at the White House Tuesday, just after headlines out of Qatar touting that a new draft deal initiative is gaining momentum.
Rubio insisted again that Strait of Hormuz remains open and that vessels are continuing to pass through it, but said the US is working to open it up to bigger vessel transit flows.
“I think there is a conversation and a negotiation that we are involved in between Iran and Oman on how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term, as we move towards… longer-term talks about denuclearization,” said Rubio. He then emphasized that that the “denuclearization of Iran” is the “ultimate deal”.
But from Tehran’s point of view, this will constitute Washington shifting the goalposts back to square one once again. Iran has insisted it will not negotiate the end of its nuclear program, especially while the conflict is still in an active phrase. It has consistently said that nuclear talks can happen later, only once an agreement to end the war has been accomplished. The two sides continue to be far apart, despite the Tuesday morning onslaught of ‘Hormuz deal imminent’ headlines.
Images from Al Arabiya show smoke rising from a ship hit by a projectile near the Strait of Hormuz
PressTV, however, has said that Iran-Oman talks on opening Hormuz are in a “new phase” – and despite what it calls “US obstruction” – but so far it appears this management scheme will be favorable to Iran’s demands. And yet there’s still some signs of compromise on the horizon:
IRAN WEIGHS ALLOWING EUROPE TO CLEAR MINES IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Here’s where things stand on the Iran-Oman talks for Hormuz management, which would leave Iran in a favored position, and maintaining an immense amount of leverage over the waterway:
Another fake ceasefire in progress? Or are we to believe it’s for real this time? There’s nothing on the ground-level at all that currently suggests the warring sides are imminently about to agree to a new ceasefire, or are so much as back at the negotiating table.
And yet Tuesday morning headlines are now being driven by a Qatari Foreign Ministry statement saying that “language” for a possible US-Iran resolution “has been drafted” and “is being circulated between the parties.”
Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari didn’t offer any time line for a potential deal in relaying the statement before a press briefing but said that current diplomatic efforts are focused on preventing further escalation, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and creating conditions to resume talks.
He described that the focus is on short term resolution that would restart US-Iran talks and return the sides to mediation, but also admitted that there’s “nothing the the books when it comes to direct talks.” This comes as President Trump has told Iran that he wants to see a deal done on the Hormuz Strait immediately, per Bloomberg.
This was enough for regional media, including Israel’s i24 to report ‘progress’ in the Omani mediated Hormuz talks, with the American side – as yet only participating indirectly – said to be “much more” flexible in their demands than even the Omani side, amid Iranian recalcitrance.
“Iran has conveyed a message: any solution that we agree to and sign must also be approved by Washington,” i24 has written. This somewhat forced and perhaps manufactured return yet again to peace optimism has sent oil sliding…
BRENT CRUDE OIL FALLS BELOW $80 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE MID JULY
The day prior, President Trump continued to address Tehran in threatening language, however. He said before reporters in the Oval Office: “I want to give them every last chance before decapitation. Very tough to do what what we have planned, still planned. We’ll see what happens, but it’s very very tough thing to do. I think I’m very proud of the fact that I will give people a chance.”
Just on the heels of the above ‘draft deal’ headlines, and in a carefully timed CNBC appearance, Washington brought out its heavy hitter to re-anchor the administration’s narrative, seeking to assure markets that a diplomatic deal with Tehran is not only real, but imminent – potentially coming together even as soon as Tuesday through Wednesday.
“We may have an Iran deal tomorrow to open Hormuz,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared, signaling that a major diplomatic resolution is within reach. He pointed out that physical maritime traffic is already quietly resuming, regardless of headline volatility.
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Bessent claimed the administration is seeing “quite a few ships coming out of Hormuz, even now,” suggesting the chokehold is loosening ahead of an actual deal and formal signature. With physical crude flows expected to resume, Bessent predicted that elevated energy prices will soon settle down, paving the way for a massive “relief trade” across broader markets:
“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 normalized position in this conflict,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC.
Asked if Tehran would be allowed to charge a toll, Bessent said the deal would allow freedom of movement in the strait.
“It would be freedom of movement,” he said. “Even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we saw quite a few ships coming out even now.”
