Trump: Open Hormuz or Iran 'Hit Very Hard'
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- Trump warned Iran the Strait of Hormuz 'is going to be open very soon, or they're going to get hit very hard,' telling Fox News that 'all you can do is fight your way out' and that negotiators 'had a very good day' with a deal possible by Wednesday (Aug 5).
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC there's 'a chance we may have a deal' by Wednesday or Thursday, and Axios, citing unnamed regional and US officials, reported a 60-day interim arrangement for safe passage was on the table between Iran and Oman.
- Iran's foreign ministry has publicly denied negotiations with Washington, even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the US is involved in Oman-Iran talks on increasing Hormuz traffic and Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani discussed de-escalation with Trump by phone.
- Iran has tightened its grip on the strait and now seeks to charge tolls and require ships to coordinate crossings with it — powers it did not exercise before the war began Feb 28 — while Trump called Tehran 'duplicitous' and said a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports would remain 'unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished.'
- Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, and on Tuesday the Indian ship MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank in the Red Sea after an unattributed attack while a crew member went missing from a separate projectile strike on a cargo vessel in Hormuz.
Why it matters: For global oil and gas supplies moving through one of the world's most critical chokepoints, a failed deal risks renewed escalation while even a successful 60-day interim arrangement only buys temporary safe passage — and Iran's public denial of talks despite Rubio's confirmation exposes the fragile trust gap that could collapse the agreement at any moment.
