US President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that negotiations with Iran are actively underway, despite a clear denial from Iranian diplomacy. Speaking to reporters at the White House, the American president stated that talks are taking place “right now,” following a request from Tehran, and are being conducted with the support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
Read also: Trump ramps up pressure on Iran: “Last chance to sign a good deal”
Donald Trump described the contacts as the “last chance” for the Islamic Republic to reach a favorable agreement, stressing that “this is the last opportunity the Iranians have to sign a good document.” According to Trump, the talks concern the opening of the Strait of Hormuz — potentially, he suggested, “as early as tomorrow.” Earlier, he had blasted what he called the “unbelievable duplicity” of Iranian leaders on Truth Social, without specifying who exactly he was referring to.
“They ask for a meeting — some would say ‘beg’ — talks begin, more are scheduled in the near future, and then they publicly and proudly say they have no discussions going on,” the president wrote in a post on the social media platform he owns.
Last week, the US president threatened to order Iran to be hit “very hard,” before reversing course and announcing that he had postponed planned large-scale bombing campaigns coordinated with Israel. This latest about-face is consistent with Trump’s well-established pattern of swinging rapidly between threats and announcements of diplomatic engagement.
Tehran: No talks with the US — “We are only negotiating with Oman”
Tehran’s response came during the weekly briefing for accredited journalists at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “We are not negotiating with the United States at this time. We are negotiating with Oman, to guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.
The day before, the spokesperson had referenced a deal that he said could be concluded soon with Oman, to reopen the strategically vital maritime passage for global hydrocarbon trade — a passage that Tehran had once again effectively closed after the initial agreement with Washington, the so-called “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” collapsed when hostilities resumed in early July.
Tehran, unwilling to return to the pre-war status quo, is now allowing ships wishing to transit the Strait of Hormuz to follow only a single route, along its own coastline — making clear its intention to maintain control of the waterway.
The Sultanate of Oman, which had already drawn Iran’s ire by opening a new shipping route in June, has not yet taken any public position — neither confirming nor denying the reported negotiations.
“We are at the point of reaching an agreement on a route acceptable to both sides — neither the northern nor the southern — with respect for each country’s sovereign rights and a guarantee of our national interests and security,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei summarized on Sunday in an appearance on Iranian state television.
Shortly after 03:30 (Greek time), the price of WTI crude oil was up 0.49% at $80.73 per barrel, while North Sea Brent, the international benchmark, rose 0.60% to $82.47. Prices edged higher following a sharp decline the previous day, which had been driven by hopes of negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Brent had surpassed $100 per barrel at the end of July.
In the meantime, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz remain extremely high. A projectile of “unknown” type struck a cargo vessel while transiting the strait, the British maritime security advisory service UKMTO — which operates under the Ministry of Defence — reported overnight, without mentioning any casualties or significant damage.
UKMTO WARNING 104-26
Click here to view the full product⤵️ https://t.co/YeKyizmufu#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/oeaeGR2ENg
— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) August 3, 2026
Trump: A deal or Iran’s “complete surrender” to halt the bombing campaign
Donald Trump set a deal with Iran — reached “quickly,” and particularly concerning the strait — as the condition for suspending US bombing operations. On Sunday, he assured reporters that the waterway is under the “full control” of the US Navy, and added that the American blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf would only be lifted in the event of a “deal” or Iran’s “complete surrender.”
The Middle East war, which erupted on February 28 following the US-Israeli attack on Iran, came to a halt in April before hostilities resumed in early July.
According to American media reports, Washington had drawn up plans for massive strikes against Iran over the weekend, targeting in particular Iranian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries and power generation facilities.
In announcing his decision to call off the strikes, Donald Trump claimed he did so in response to requests from “countries in the region,” while asserting that the “framework” of a deal is already in place.
He cited requests from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Iran itself. Tehran flatly denied submitting any such request, calling it “another lie” from the American president.
The armed conflict has in recent days expanded to a new front in the Red Sea, where the Shia armed movement Ansarallah — better known in the West by the surname of its leadership family, the Houthis — which is aligned with Iran, initially announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian ports, followed by attacks on oil tankers and ports belonging to the Sunni kingdom that holds the world’s largest crude oil exports.
