<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that there were no talks ongoing with Iran, leaving the simmering conflict in the Middle East and control of the Strait of Hormuz stuck in limbo.<\/p>\n
The memorandum of understanding that the US and Iran signed in June in an effort to buy time to negotiate a lasting peace deal \u2014 as repeatedly violated as it had been during that 60-day window \u2014 has expired. There are no plans to extend it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,\u201d Trump posted on his social media platform. That leaves the status of Hormuz unresolved, with little traffic and Washington and Tehran still at odds over how the waterway should be managed.<\/p>\n
The United Arab Emirates said it was cutting off trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice \u201cin light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move came after the UAE said Iran fired two ballistic missiles toward its territory, the Islamic Republic\u2019s first confirmed attack on the Gulf nation since May. Both missiles were targeting maritime traffic, but fell into the sea and only one reached the UAE\u2019s waters, according to the country\u2019s Defense Ministry. Tehran had recently launched strikes against UAE-linked ships. Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry, denied that Iran launched a missile toward the UAE.<\/p>\n
Brent crude was above $91 a barrel as prospects dimmed for a swift reopening of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas transited before the war.<\/p>\n
Traffic through Hormuz remains well below prewar levels amid repeated attacks on ships. The UK said Tuesday that a vessel leaving the strait was hit by a projectile that damaged its engine room and caused one casualty. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed freedom of navigation with the UAE\u2019s national security adviser.<\/p>\n
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Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran\u2019s lead negotiator with the US, told lawmakers that Hormuz won\u2019t reopen until Washington lifts its port blockade, releases frozen assets, removes oil sanctions and ends military operations, as agreed in June.<\/p>\n
Trump, meanwhile, is demanding Iran drop efforts to charge tolls on vessels crossing the waterway, while Tehran has said it will govern traffic in conjunction with Oman. The US president, citing the naval blockade of Iranian ports, claimed that the strait is \u201copen and operating\u201d despite shipping data showing otherwise.<\/p>\n
Trump also asserted that \u201call water mines have been removed or detonated,\u201d though European officials are sceptical given the time-consuming nature of mine clearing. A planned European mission has yet to begin.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s declarations from the president marked the latest example of the mixed messages coming from the administration.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has been active in diplomatic efforts, told Fox News on Tuesday that conversations with \u201cdifferent areas of the Iranian government\u201d were ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really not a lot of trust between America and Iran after all these years of not having these relations and dialogues,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we are having very positive and active conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the president, those are now over. Yet there\u2019s little sign Iran is willing to bend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in what I call an economic war of attrition to see who can endure longer, to see who can force the other side to make concessions,\u201d Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Bloomberg Television.<\/p>\n
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The war began Feb. 28 with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and spread across the region. Trump says his primary objective is to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which Iranian officials deny pursuing.<\/p>\n
Trump has also reiterated his idea of declaring Hormuz an American territory, while insisting the US has total control over the strait, a position directly at odds with Iran\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n
Iran and Oman are negotiating a deal on managing Hormuz, without US participation. Trump told Fox News that if \u201cOman gets in the way, we\u2019ll bomb the s\u2014\u2014 out of them,\u201d repeating a similar threat from May. Oman isn\u2019t a formal US ally but is a close security partner.<\/p>\n
Trump has struggled to find an off-ramp to a war that\u2019s driven up gasoline prices and grown increasingly unpopular in the US, threatening Republican support ahead of November\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Trump and his officials have pledged more economic pressure on Iran, though Tehran has withstood decades of sanctions. The war has damaged industrial capacity, curtailed crude exports and driven inflation sharply higher. Ghalibaf acknowledged legitimate economic grievances but urged Iranians to prioritise national unity.<\/p>\n
Jake Sullivan, who served as national security adviser under former President Joe Biden, told Bloomberg Television that Trump faces two bad options: continue the war and absorb the economic costs, or strike \u201ca very, very bad deal\u201d as Iran raises the price of reopening Hormuz with new demands.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Trump #takes #Iran #hard #line #Hormuz #tensions #set #normal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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