US Hopeful Hormuz Strait Deal Will Be Done 'Today or Tomorrow'
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent says there is a chance of a deal within hours, even as a merchant ship was struck by a projectile in the strait.
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".
Tehran and Washington have been at war since Feb 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran. Despite a ceasefire and a preliminary deal in the months since, diplomacy has failed to end the conflict.
Underlining the fragility of the situation, one crew member was listed missing on Tuesday on a merchant ship hit by a projectile in Hormuz, with fire erupting in the accommodation area.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has been the spark for repeated returns to fighting. Iran wants to maintain control over and charge tolls in the strait, powers it did not exercise before the war and which the US fiercely opposes.
Last week Trump threatened to hit Iran "very hard", potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back later, hinting a deal was near. Iran's foreign ministry denied negotiations were taking place, even as Trump insisted they were happening "right now".
Secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the US 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.
The closure of the Hormuz has rattled global markets, and rekindled hopes for its reopening drove benchmark Brent North Sea Crude prices down nearly five percent to US$79.69 per barrel on Tuesday.
Qatar, which has been mediating, said diplomatic efforts were ongoing but no direct Iran-US talks were planned. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump by phone on Tuesday to discuss "efforts to de-escalate tensions".
Trump had called Tehran "duplicitous" and said a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports would stay "unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished".
In the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia, the Indian ship MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank off Yemen after an unattributed attack. All crew were rescued, India's foreign ministry said.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.