U.S.-Iran Talks Remain Uncertain as Vessel Struck in Strait of Hormuz

Reuters

Ships at the Strait of Hormuz.

A British maritime security agency said a cargo vessel reported being struck by an unidentified projectile overnight in the Strait of Hormuz, as the United States and Iran issued conflicting statements over whether diplomatic talks between the two countries were taking place.

According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” at around 2:00 a.m. local time while sailing approximately 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Al Khasab, Oman.

Al Khasab is located at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically vital waterway at the entrance to the Gulf. Before the conflict, around one-fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas shipments passed through the strait, making it one of the world's most important energy transit routes.

The strait has been effectively shut by Iran’s attacks on shipping since the start of the war in February, while the U.S. also has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the waterway.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said the two sides are resuming talks to wind down the war. But Iran insisted it only was talking with Oman and the discussion focused on the Strait of Hormuz.

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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