Hormuz Deal Stalls as Iran Adds Conditions
The deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remained unsigned into Wednesday evening, as Iran hardened its position and said it would not fully reopen the waterway until the United States lifted its naval blockade. Tehran and Oman were reported to be putting the final touches to a sixty-day arrangement to manage shipping, with vessels entering on Iranian coordinates and leaving on Omani ones. President Trump said an agreement “could happen — tomorrow or the next day”, while his secretary of state again said there was “no finality yet”.
The stalling exposed how far apart the two sides remain even as they inch towards a formula for the world’s most important oil chokepoint. Iran’s insistence that the American blockade end first — the US says it has turned back dozens of vessels — is a fresh obstacle, and no ceasefire or reopening had been announced. Markets, which had rallied to records on hopes of a breakthrough, drifted as the optimism cooled, with oil settling back below $80 a barrel. After weeks of lurching between strike threats and deal talk, the outcome still hangs in the balance. Watch whether the sixty-day arrangement is signed, or the threats return.