Tehran: US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that negotiations are ongoing to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz “literally by tomorrow,” while issuing a sharp warning that Iran faces a “last chance before decapitation”. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump asserted that the talks would move quickly toward opening the vital maritime passage as a primary step. However, Tehran denied holding any direct talks with Washington, contradicting the American claims regarding the critical energy shipping corridor.
Stark contrast between Washington’s claims and Tehran’s flat denial
The stark contrast between Washington’s claims and Tehran’s flat denial leaves the strategic gateway—responsible for the transit of roughly 20 percent of the world’s fossil fuels—trapped in intense global uncertainty. Describing the scenario as straightforward, Trump emphasized that the opening of the waterway would happen rapidly “one way or the other,” even as the conflicting positions from both nations highlight the volatile and unresolved state of the impasse.
“We are not holding any negotiations with the United States at present”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a news briefing in Tehran. Speaking a few hours before Trump, he said that except for Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is on a pilgrimage to Iraq, all the negotiators were in Iran. Trump dismissed it, writing on Truth Social, “Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous” because after they “beg” for a meeting “they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions”.
Baqaei did say that Iran was in consultations with Oman, which is across from it on the Strait, for what the Iranian news agency Tasnim described as a “temporary arrangement that would ensure maritime safety in the strategic waterway”.
A Memorandum of Understanding on opening the Strait, where shipping was disrupted after the bombing of Iran, was signed by Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on June 17, but unravelled within weeks after Iran attacked ships in the Strait and the US blockaded Iranian ports.
(With inputs from agencies)
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