Trump says Strait of Hormuz reopening deal could come this week

Cairo,UPDATED: Aug 6, 2026 00:04 IST

US President Donald Trump has said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come this week, as Iran and Oman moved closer to an agreement on the key waterway. The development 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 February 28, citing goals that included toppling Tehran's government and ending its nuclear programme. Those goals were not achieved, and the conflict has since centred on the strait, where Iranian attacks on shipping have brought traffic to a halt.

The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, which had been an open international waterway before the war. An agreement giving Iran authority over it would be seen as a major setback for the US and a break from global norms. The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas once passed, has pushed up fuel prices and the cost of basic goods well beyond the region. Trump is also facing mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of midterm congressional elections.

Asked by reporters travelling with him in California about an Axios report that an announcement on the strait could be made on Wednesday, Trump said, "It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day," and added, "A lot of progress has been made." Oil prices initially eased on hopes of a deal that would allow shipping to resume, but later edged up. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was around USD 80 a barrel on Wednesday, still below the levels reached at the height of the conflict. In recent days, Trump has again alternated between threatening massive strikes and backing diplomatic efforts.

Two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Iranian and Omani negotiators have finalised the draft deal to reopen the strait and are awaiting final approval from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in the opening strikes of the war and has not been seen in public since. The officials, who were briefed on the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the proposed deal is a temporary solution tied to a US-Iran agreement reached in June that was meant to end the fighting and reopen the waterway but later collapsed.

The officials said the potential deal would pave the way for the US and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme. Earlier, they had said the arrangement would have ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and leave through a route controlled by Oman. They said service fees would be charged for security and for protecting the maritime environment. The US has said it is strongly opposed to any arrangement under which Iran would charge fees. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the agreement with Oman is in the "final stage" of drafting and that a joint statement would be issued "if certain parties do not obstruct this process", apparently referring to the US.

Even as hopes of a deal grew, attacks on shipping in the region continued. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed on Wednesday that they had fired ballistic missiles towards a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea. Brig Gen Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said in a prerecorded statement that the vessel was targeted off the Saudi port city of Yanbu, but he did not 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. In July, the Houthis announced they were closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping, adding pressure on international trade as the Red Sea had become a key alternative route for Saudi oil exports during the war.

On Tuesday, Yemeni and Indian authorities said an Indian-flagged commercial ship sank in the Red Sea off Yemen after being hit by an explosive-laden boat. Yemen's coast guard rescued the crew. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. On Wednesday, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said another vessel in the Red Sea off Yemen reported a loud explosion nearby, adding that the crew was safe.

Meanwhile, the already fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah became more tense on Wednesday. The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri, the first such warning in weeks, saying it was a response to Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire that had largely held since June 20. Later, the Israeli military said it had begun carrying out "precise strikes" in southern Lebanon in response to what it called "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 meant to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament. A State Department official said the second day of talks ended early "due to events on the ground" but could continue on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the diplomacy, said the "discussions focused on a range of political and military issues and were extremely productive". Overall, movement towards a Strait of Hormuz deal gathered pace, but attacks on shipping and renewed tension on the Israel-Lebanon front showed that the wider conflict remained active.

With PTI Inputs

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