US rules out new talks with Iran on Hormuz – report

The US has the upper hand over Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, leading the Trump administration to push for renewed talks focused on its nuclear program.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States is attempting to move its confrontation with Iran away from negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and back toward Tehran’s nuclear program, as senior US officials increasingly argue that months of military operations have deprived Iran of much of the leverage it gained by disrupting the strategic waterway.

Washington deliberately stayed out of a planned meeting in Oman between Iran and Persian Gulf states that had been intended to advance an agreement on restoring commercial traffic through Hormuz, CNN reported Monday, citing officials familiar with the administration’s strategy.

Three sources said the Trump administration has privately told regional partners that it wants future negotiations with Iran centered on the nuclear issue rather than on a separate bargain over the strait.

“We don’t want to talk about the strait, and that is the position of the administration right now – we’re only going to talk to you if you want to talk about the nuclear file,” one US official said.

Another US official said Sunday that Washington remained in close contact with its allies but would not recognize Iranian sovereignty over the international waterway.

“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz and never will,” the official said.

The position marks a significant change from earlier stages of negotiations, when reopening Hormuz was treated as an essential first step toward ending the wider US-Iran conflict.

As recently as August, President Donald Trump publicly described negotiations as a two-stage process: first restoring passage through Hormuz and then reaching an agreement on what he called the “denuclearization of Iran.”

“We want to talk about the Strait, but more importantly, from my standpoint, we want to talk about the denuclearization of Iran,” Trump said at the time.

The administration now appears to believe the military balance has shifted enough that it does not need to offer Tehran major concessions simply to restore shipping.

Vice President JD Vance made that argument explicitly earlier this month.

“I think they’re realizing, by the way, that their control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone, and it’s a diminishing asset,” Vance said during a September 3 White House briefing.

Vance said energy traffic had recovered dramatically from the near-total disruption seen earlier in the war.

“It was virtually nothing. Now it’s almost back to where it was before the conflict even started,” he said.

US naval forces have been escorting commercial vessels through the strait while attacking Iranian capabilities Washington says threaten international shipping.

The administration’s increasingly confident rhetoric, however, goes further than the available shipping data.

Reuters reported last week that energy flows through Hormuz remained at roughly 75% of prewar levels, while preliminary tracking data from the latest weekend showed only four commodity vessels leaving the Persian Gulf and 10 entering through the strait. Some vessels may not appear in tracking data because they have switched off their transponders.

Ships also continue to face attacks.

An Iranian commercial vessel was struck Sunday near Qeshm Island inside the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and wounding several others, according to Iranian state media. Tehran blamed what it described as a “terrorist enemy,” while no party immediately claimed responsibility.

The continuing danger illustrates the difference between weakening Iran’s ability to shut down the strait completely and restoring the unrestricted commercial navigation that existed before the war.

The new US approach emerged as a planned regional meeting in Salalah, Oman, collapsed shortly before it was due to begin Monday.

Iran had planned to brief Gulf governments on an arrangement negotiated with Oman that could eventually establish new maritime routes and rules for commercial vessels crossing the strait.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced the postponement Sunday night.

“In the interests of consensus the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed,” he wrote. “We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region.”

Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia requested the delay after raising concerns about the draft arrangement and proposing amendments intended to prevent an Iran-Oman agreement from setting a precedent that could disadvantage other Gulf states.

The proposed framework reportedly included defined transit routes and the possibility of voluntary payments related to maritime security and environmental services. Gulf governments have strongly resisted any arrangement that would effectively give Iran the right to impose mandatory tolls on international shipping.

Tehran, meanwhile, has insisted that Washington end its blockade of Iranian ports before broader nuclear negotiations can proceed.

That demand creates a fundamental sequencing dispute.

The US increasingly argues that it can keep significant quantities of energy moving through Hormuz militarily and therefore does not need to purchase Iranian cooperation through sanctions relief or concessions over the strait. Iran argues that the maritime confrontation must first be resolved before negotiations on its nuclear program can resume.

Donald TrumpIranIran talksStrait of Hormuz