CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come this week, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy and potentially help bring an end to the war.
The United States, along with Israel, launched the war on Feb. 28, citing various goals including toppling Tehran’s government and ending its nuclear program. Those were not achieved,
and the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iranian attacks on shipping have ground traffic through the waterway to a halt.
The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, which was an open international waterway before the war, but has seen traffic reduced to a trickle. An agreement giving Iran authority over it would be seen as a major loss for the U.S. and a break with global norms.
Closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas once passed, has driven up the price of fuel and basic goods far beyond the region, roiling the global economy. Trump is also under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of midterm congressional elections.
The U.S. president was asked by reporters traveling with him in California about a report on the Axios news site that an announcement on the strait could be made on Wednesday.
“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” he said, speaking Tuesday evening California time. “A lot of progress has been made.”
A State Department official said Wednesday that the second day of talks in Rome had ended early “due to events on the ground” but could continue on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the diplomacy, said the “discussions focused on a range of political and military issues and were extremely productive.”
Oil prices initially eased on hopes of a deal that would allow shipping to resume but later inched upward. Brent crude, the international standard, was around $80 per barrel on Wednesday — still well below the levels it hit at the height of the conflict.
In recent days, Trump has again alternately threatened massive strikes and voiced support for diplomatic efforts.
Iranian and Omani negotiators have finalized the draft deal to reopen the strait and are awaiting final approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in the war's opening strikes and has not been seen in public since then.
The officials, who were briefed on the negotiations, portrayed the potential deal as a temporary solution to the dispute over the strait. They said it is tied to an agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran in June that aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the waterway, but ultimately collapsed.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks, said the potential deal will pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Earlier, they had said the possible agreement would have ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman. Service fees would be charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, the officials said.
The U.S. has said it is strongly opposed to any arrangement that would see Iran charge fees.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said that the agreement with Oman is in the “final stage” of drafting, and that a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the U.S.
Even as hopes increased that a deal on the strait could be imminent, attacks on shipping in the region continued.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed Wednesday they had fired ballistic missiles toward a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a prerecorded statement that the vessel was targeted off the Saudi port city of Yanbu. He didn’t provide evidence.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The attack is part of a recent escalation between the rebels and Saudi Arabia that threatens to reignite Yemen's civil war, which pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition supporting the country’s government.
In July, the Houthis announced they were closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea for Saudi-linked shipping. That puts additional pressure on international shipping since the Red Sea became a key alternative route for Saudi oil exports during the war.
On Tuesday, an Indian-flagged commercial ship sank in the Red Sea off Yemen after being struck by an explosive-laden boat, Yemeni and Indian authorities said. Yemen’s coast guard rescued the crew. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Another vessel sailing in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen reported a loud explosion that happened in close proximity, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said on Wednesday, adding that the ship's crew was safe.
Meanwhile, the already shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah grew more volatile Wednesday, as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri — the first such warning in weeks.
Israel said that it was in response to Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement between them, which had largely held since June 20.
Later, the Israeli military said it had begun conducting “precise strikes” in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as “a blatant violation of the ceasefire” by Hezbollah.
The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome for a second day to discuss implementation of a deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they are occupying in southern Lebanon in exchange for disarmament of Hezbollah.
___
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Superville from Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Aamer Madhani, Fatima Hussein and Matthew Lee in Washington and Claire Galofaro in Louisville, Kentucky, also contributed.
