CAIRO – A cargo vessel reported being struck by a projectile overnight near Oman’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a British maritime monitoring agency, as Washington and Tehran offered conflicting accounts over whether talks between the two rivals were underway.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States and Iran were returning to negotiations aimed at easing the war. Iran, however, disputed that version, saying its only discussions were with Oman and that those talks centered on the Strait of Hormuz.
Here are the key developments from the Middle East on Tuesday.
Cargo ship reports projectile strike in the Strait of Hormuz
The vessel said it was “hit by an unknown projectile” at about 2 a.m. local time while positioned 37 kilometers (23 miles) northeast of Al Khasab, Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center reported.
The UKMTO released no additional details about the ship, including its flag state or whether it was transporting cargo at the time of the reported incident.
Al Khasab lies at the northern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, projecting into the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas moved through the waterway.
The strait has been effectively closed by Iranian attacks on shipping since the war began in February, while the United States has also enforced a blockade on Iranian ports along the waterway.
US and Iran offer conflicting claims about talks
Trump said Monday that talks with Iran had resumed, a day after saying he called of massive strikes he had threatened to unleash on the country. Trump said he pulled back at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking,” Trump maintained.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday that no negotiations were being held with the U.S., adding that Tehran’s talks were only with Oman and focused on establishing a route for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump voiced frustration with Iran, suggesting Tehran had asked for the talks, which are critical to ending the monthslong conflict and reviving stalled cargo traffic through the strait.
“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” the U.S. president vented on Truth Social, his social media platform.
“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman’,” he wrote.
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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece.
