U.S.-Iran Updates: Trump says no talks with Iran taking place as standoff over Strait of Hormuz continues

The government of Qatar, which has been a key mediator in the stalled U.S.-Iran talks, said Tuesday that an agreement between Iran and Oman over future control of the Strait of Hormuz would make it easier to resume negotiations to end the war in the region.

Iran and Oman, both coastal states bordering the strategic waterway, have been discussing the future of navigation through the strait for weeks. Tehran said Monday that the geographical coordinates of new shipping routes through the waterway envisaged by both countries had “been agreed upon.”

Oman has not confirmed any looming announcements or agreements with Iran. 

President Trump, who has repeatedly said the U.S. should seize and keep control of the strait, warned Monday that if Oman stood in the way of ending the war, the U.S. would “bomb the s**t” out of the country, which has long been a U.S. ally.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters Tuesday that a final agreement between Iran and Oman “would make it much easier for us to resume the talks between the United States and Iran.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the strait would not be reopened unless and until the U.S. meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a naval blockade of Iran’s ports.

On Monday, Iran said talks were “continuing in a serious manner” and views were being exchanged on the text of a “joint statement” with Oman.

CBS/AFP

President Trump said Tuesday that there are no ongoing talks with Iran and no new discussions have been planned, almost six months into the war launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel, which Mr. Trump had said he expected to take no more than six weeks.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. 

“The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect,” he continued. “The Hormuz Strait is open and operating.” 

“All water mines have been removed or detonated,” Mr. Trump added, repeating a claim he made last week.

While some tankers are believed to be getting through the strait with their transponders switched off to effectively hide from view, traffic through the crucial maritime choke point has been hugely reduced since the war began in late February, with both the U.S. and Iran imposing restrictions on the waterway.

As recently as Monday, Mr. Trump indicated to Fox News that there was still some level of discussion between U.S. and Iranian officials, saying specifically that there were “backchannel” contacts between Americans and members of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

The U.S. ambassador to Turkey chastised Israel Tuesday for what he called an “unnecessary escalation” for airstrikes targeting an air base in Syria’s northern Idlib region.

Israel has not acknowledged carrying out the strikes, but Syrian officials and state media said at least four strikes hit the Abu al-Duhur Airbase Monday night and Tuesday morning, causing damage but no casualties.

In a post on X Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said the U.S. was “deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase” – which was used by the Syrian air force – “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

In a statement published Tuesday, Syria’s foreign affairs ministry called the airstrikes an “unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a dangerous escalation.”

Syria’s post-Bashar al-Assad government “has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces,” Barrack wrote. “It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.”

“The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course,” he added. “We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged that the past year has been one of the most difficult periods for the country diplomatically, but he says it will lead to an emboldened approach to foreign policy after the ongoing war.

In an interview aired on Iranian state TV, Araghchi said the war had fundamentally altered international perceptions of Iran and argued that the country had demonstrated resilience despite sustained pressure.

“In my view, Iran’s foreign policy in the post-war period will be completely different from the period before the war. The perception of Iran as weak has been completely eliminated,” he said.

Araghchi said the U.S. initially sought Iran’s unconditional surrender, but subsequently shifted its objectives.

“It was the second or third day of the war when Trump posted a tweet in two words: ‘Unconditional surrender,'” noted Araghchi.  “And, well, they were seeking surrender. They became disappointed, then they pursued regime change; they became disappointed, then they pursued partition; they became disappointed, then they pursued internal unrest. Every plan that they could pursue, they pursued, and they were unsuccessful in bringing this war to a rapid conclusion.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister said Tuesday that President Trump’s suggestion the Strait of Hormuz should be U.S. territory was a “delusion.”

“Soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in a social media post.

The minister noted in his post that Trump had “correctly” referred to the body of water along Iran’s coast as the Persian Gulf, as opposed to the “Arabian Gulf” name, which is preferred by U.S.-allied Arab nations in the region. 

President Trump suggested again on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz should be U.S. territory.

In a Truth Social post, the president posted a map of the Strait of Hormuz under the headline “NEW U.S. Territory.” The highlighted part of the map includes parts of the coast of Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The post echoes a similar message posted by the president last week, when he wrote: “I THINK I WILL KEEP IT,” referring to the waterway, which he has claimed repeatedly is under American control. White House officials later said Mr. Trump was joking when he talked about declaring the strait a U.S. territory.

The Strait of Hormuz has become the focal point of the nearly six-month war between the U.S. and Iran, with both sides claiming control over the strategic waterway used by various Gulf states to ship their oil and gas out of the Persian Gulf to global markets.

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel for airstrikes it said the country carried out on a military airbase in the Idlib region.

In a statement published Tuesday, the ministry called the airstrikes an “unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a dangerous escalation.”

Syrian state TV earlier reported on the airstrikes, saying it had caused damage to infrastructure but resulted in no casualties.

The Israeli Defense Forces did not comment when asked about the accusations.

Iran’s parliament speaker and negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic would not lift its de facto blockade of commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets the country’s demands.

“I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding are implemented,” Ghalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state television.

Ghalibaf listed the release of Iran’s frozen financial assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil and gas sales, and the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports and associated vessels as key conditions for the reopening of the strait.

Syria accused Israel of striking a disused military air base in the country’s northwest on Tuesday.

“Israeli occupation aircraft early this morning targeted the runway… with eight strikes,” Syrian state television quoted an unidentified military source as saying.

It added that “the attack resulted in material damage to the airport’s infrastructure, without causing casualties.”

Israel has been carrying out incursions into Syrian territory since the December 2024 overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, including sending troops into a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

It has also hit key military sites including several airfields, according to a Syria war monitor.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to comment when asked about the alleged strikes.

Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco resumed offering crude oil shipments last week, using ship-to-ship transfers off the United Arab Emirates coast, the Reuters news agency says, citing shipping data and trade sources.

Aramco, which is the world’s top oil exporter, reportedly offered some Asian refiners medium and heavy crude cargo via ship-to-ship (STS) transfer off Fujairah in the UAE this month.

The move came after Saudi Arabia halted oil sales for ‌weeks following attacks on its tanker fleet in the Strait of Hormuz during an escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict last month.

The resumption of Saudi exports could help ease tight supply of heavier grades that produce more residue fuel which ⁠can be used to refuel ships or processed further at refineries, to yield higher quality fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia Tuesday, according to media outlets controlled by the group, as the Houthis ramp up attacks in the regional conflict.

The attacks targeted a Saudi state-owned Aramco refinery in Jazan with drones, the Houthi news agency Saba said Tuesday, quoting a military source.

In July, the war between the U.S. and Iran expanded to Yemen and the Red Sea, with Iran’s Houthi proxies repeatedly attacking Saudi oil infrastructure and ships.

The Houthi rebels announced a maritime blockade of the Yemeni government’s backer Saudi Arabia — which has led a coalition that heavily bombed Houthi areas throughout the war.

CBS/AFP

Iran’s judiciary said it has banned a YouTube debate show for spreading “false information”, while the channel’s founder said authorities had charged him and released him on bail after questioning.

On Monday, Iran’s judiciary said it opened an investigation into the YouTube channel “Azad” following the broadcast of an episode containing “false information”.

Mizan Online, the judiciary’s news website, said the show was “considered an unauthorised media outlet” as it did not have an official licence from the culture ministry, which oversees media activity in Iran.

“A judiciary supervision order was issued prohibiting the director from carrying out any media activity until a licence is obtained,” Mizan reported.

It added that the channel had “committed numerous violations of media regulations during its unauthorised operations”.

The show’s founder and presenter Mehdi Ahmadi said he was charged with disseminating false information and questioned on Sunday and Monday.

“I, Mehdi Ahmadi, director and presenter of the Azad interviews have been charged with disseminating false information and have been referred to the prosecutor’s office yesterday and today to answer for these charges,” he said Monday on X.

“In accordance with the court’s decision, I was released on bail but the Azad channel is prohibited from broadcasting any interviews until further notice.”

A ship on its way out of the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an “unknown projectile” on Tuesday, according to a British maritime agency, resulting in one casualty and  damage to an engine room.

“The impact caused damage to the engine room and resulted in a crew casualty,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in a social media post, adding that the remaining crew members were being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard.

President Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner said Monday that Iran is “not showing any interest” in striking a deal that “makes sense” for the United States.

In an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, Kushner said the president was focused on exerting economic pressure on Iran and ensuring Tehran cannot build a nuclear weapon.

“If Iran is willing to finish the deal they’ve been discussing with us to give up their ability to create a nuclear weapon, then obviously [Mr. Trump] is willing to make a deal that could be great for the Iranian people,” Kushner said.

The comments came as the 60-day negotiation period agreed to under the memorandum of understanding expired.

Japan underlined on Tuesday that security cooperation with the United States and South Korea was “critical” for the region’s stability, after President Trump alarmed allies by scaling back military drills with Seoul while hailing his ties with Pyongyang.

Mr. Trump abruptly announced on Sunday that he had ordered the Pentagon to scale back “inappropriate and hostile” military drills with South Korea.

The following day he insisted he was making the situation “much safer” through his ties with the North’s Kim Jong Un, whom he met three times in his first term but has yet to encounter since his return to the White House.

While praising the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea, he rebuked key ally Seoul for failing to help Washington fight Iran, a war Mr. Trump says is aimed at stopping Tehran from getting an atomic bomb.

Pressed about whether Kim had responded to his messages, the president told reporters in the Oval Office: “Yeah, he has.”

Mr. Trump said “it’s very positive” when asked what stage the conversations with Kim were at, but provided no further detail.

He then doubled down on his praise for Kim, saying their ties reduced tensions.

“Kim Jong Un has always treated me with great respect,” the president said. “I understand him. He understands me.”

President Trump on Monday downplayed reports about conditions for sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for nine months, calling them “fake news.”

“The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, a good period of time, but over the years, we’ve had it out there much longer,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The president said he spoke to an admiral, whom he did not name, over the weekend and that the retired officer told him: “I’ve been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the Lincoln. They say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.”

A number of families in recent days voiced worries that mental health conditions on the ship are deteriorating, and there have been some complaints about sanitary conditions and food supplies during the lengthy deployment amid the U.S.-Iran war. A typical deployment is six months, but the service members aboard the USS Lincoln have been deployed for nine months and counting.

U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper visited the aircraft carrier over the weekend and said deployment at sea is ” uniquely challenging and tough,” though he did not confirm or deny any specific issues.