Trump says new Iran negotiations starting: What we know

Trump Reports Potential Agreement with Iran as Talks on Strait of Hormuz Advance

United States President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that an agreement with Iran is close and that new discussions were scheduled to start on Monday. At a news conference the following day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran would not host a delegation or serve as guests of another country during this period. The following is a summary of available information on the reported negotiations.

Trump made the comments while returning to Washington from New Jersey. He said he had canceled what he described as planned “massive strikes” on Iran and that talks would begin the next day. He gave no information on the location or participants. When asked about a possible deadline, he did not respond directly and instead said he preferred reaching an agreement over military action that would result in deaths.

On Monday, Trump repeated that the planned operation would have been the largest U.S. attack since World War II and stated that he had called it off. He added that an agreement involving the Strait of Hormuz and the denuclearization of Iran was imminent.

Al Jazeera correspondent Osama Bin Javaid reported from Doha that, shortly before Trump’s statement, an unnamed source indicated mediators were preparing to travel to Tehran for indirect talks. The initial focus, according to the report, would be existing discussions between Iran and Oman concerning management of the Strait of Hormuz. Bin Javaid cited sources indicating that the Pakistani interior minister and Qatari emissaries were expected to participate. He noted that specific details remained unclear but that some process appeared underway.

Baghaei stated on Monday that Iran would not host or visit another country for talks in the immediate period. It remained unclear whether the statement applied only to direct meetings. Al Jazeera correspondent Tohid Asadi reported from Tehran that Iran was engaged in bilateral discussions with Oman focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and that Tehran was not seeking foreign intervention in those talks.

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft told Al Jazeera that repeated announcements and cancellations of strikes had reduced the credibility of any negotiation process. He described the pattern as reducing trust in both incentives and threats. Alan Eyre of the Middle East Institute said the only active discussions were those between Iran and Oman on the strait and that Iran had concluded direct talks with the United States were not reliable. Charles Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations said a limited arrangement on the strait might be possible but that a broader agreement on Iran’s nuclear program was unlikely in the near term.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that talks with Oman on the future management of the Strait of Hormuz had reached final stages, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA. The strait, which carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments prior to the start of the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, was closed by Iran in early March after U.S. and Israeli air strikes began on February 28. Limited passage resumed after a June 17 memorandum of understanding, but disputes over routes led to further closures last week and a renewed U.S. naval presence near Iranian ports.

Oman presented a proposal, supported by other Gulf states, that Iran rejected before offering counterproposals. Iranian state media reported that Araghchi spoke by telephone with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Pakistan’s military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir regarding diplomatic efforts. Baghaei said the current talks concerned a new transit route and that discussions with Oman had been underway for seven to eight days with some progress recorded. He added that contacts with officials from the region and beyond were also taking place.

Trump told reporters on Monday that he had halted the planned strikes after receiving requests from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to pursue an agreement instead. Oil prices declined following the announcement, with Brent crude falling more than four dollars per barrel to $83.85 and West Texas Intermediate crude reaching $80.66. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that forces remained prepared for operations at levels not seen since World War II and described the military as “locked and loaded.”

The sequence of events began with the February 28 strikes in the context of the broader conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Iranian officials have maintained that their talks with Oman are bilateral and limited to practical arrangements for the strait. No confirmed schedule or participant list for wider negotiations has been released by any party.