Efforts to broker a broader cease-fire between the United States and Iran showed “significant” movement on Monday, according to mediators, as President Trump voiced cautious optimism while also warning that fighting could resume if diplomacy collapses.
Washington is coordinating with Qatar, Pakistan and Egypt as part of the push to support ongoing discussions involving Iran and Oman over the future oversight of the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Axios and the Associated Press.
Trump said he was awaiting the results of the negotiations and suggested there was no firm deadline for an agreement, after the US halted its daily strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he had “plenty of time,” adding that Iran’s coastline had been heavily damaged, the strait remained in “very good shape,” and talks were currently underway.
The president said Iran had shown interest in dialogue and described the discussions as positive, saying there was a “good chance” a deal could come together.
But he also issued a blunt warning: if the talks fail, the US could return to the military action it was carrying out just two days earlier.
Officials from Oman and Iran said over the weekend that negotiations had advanced toward creating what they described as a fair management framework for the Strait of Hormuz, though proposals involving new fees for ships using the waterway could complicate the process.
One proposal would allow Iran and Oman to charge service fees tied to maritime security operations in the strait, a crucial shipping route that carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply, a regional source told Axios.
Another idea looks to borrow from the way the Strait of Malacca is managed, which sees Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore collect fees for specific services.
These mechanisms have been pitched before, with the Trump administration maintaining that the Strait of Hormuz should remain free and open to all as it was before the war began.
The talks are continuing and “focused on ways to enhance the prospects for reaching practical, fair, and sustainable arrangements for maritime navigation … through the Strait of Hormuz,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said in a statement.
While the talks are between Iran and Oman, Trump has insisted that his team is directly involved at the behest of Tehran.
“They requested a meeting. They would not have requested the meeting if we were doing poorly,” he said. “The only reason they want to meet is because we’ve been hitting them very hard.”
Iran, however, has reiterated that it is not speaking directly with the US as it continued to bomb American allies on Monday and intercept ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Tehran’s state-run media.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that while talks were ongoing with mediators, striking a quick deal with the US “is not in our DNA.”
With Post wires
