US, Iran and Oman near interim deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz. Trump warns Tehran to reach a deal soon.
US president Donald Trump has signalled that a possible breakthrough in talks with Iran could come within 48 hours, while warning Tehran that the Strait of Hormuz must reopen “very soon” as part of a deal with Iran and Oman, or face military action.Speaking to reporters in California on Tuesday, Trump said negotiations with Iran were “moving along very nicely”. “We’ll find out. We’ll know in 48 hours,” he added.The comments came as Axios reported that the US, Iran and Oman were nearing an interim agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington hoping for an announcement on Wednesday.The remarks came after Trump told Fox News that the two sides had held an “all-day negotiation”. The US president described the discussions positively while warning Iran could be hit “really hard” if a deal was not reached.“They had an all-day negotiation,” Trump told Fox News, adding, “We are having very good discussions.”In an interview with Fox News, Trump linked the negotiations directly to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.“The strait is going to be open very soon, or they’re going to get hit very hard – and then the strait’s going to be open,” Trump said. Trump also said Washington and Tehran were engaged in “very good discussions”, despite repeated Iranian denials of direct talks. “They don’t like to admit that, but yeah, it’s a little bit disconcerting,” he said.“The only thing that matters is action, and they want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be too bad,” he added.Trump also reiterated that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. “They already can’t, but they’ll–it’s going to be formal. The strait’s going to be open very soon, or they’re going to get hit very hard, and then the strait’s going to be open”, he added.Trump said Washington had been preparing a major military operation against Iran before diplomacy took precedence after Tehran sought talks.“We were going into a tremendous attack, the biggest since World War II, and they called me and said, very politely, ‘Please, can we talk? Can we talk?’” Trump told Fox News. “Yes, we can talk. Let’s get it done.”Trump on Saturday postponed large-scale strikes against Iran after consultations with Gulf partners, giving diplomatic efforts more time.
