US-Iran talks in deadlock – what’s the latest?
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- Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority posted on X that the strait "remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted," directly contradicting Trump's "total control" claim as shipping traffic fell to a one-week low.
- Trump told reporters Monday his administration would seek payment for "50 years" of damage caused by Iran, citing 52,000 claimed deaths in four months — far above Tehran's 3,117 figure and HRANA's ~7,000 estimate.
- Iran's Supreme National Security Council set six conditions for reopening: end to US threats and insults, permanent halt to attacks on allies, lifting the naval blockade, war reparations, sanctions relief, and unconditional release of frozen assets.
- Qatar said Iran-Oman negotiations on the strait reached "an advanced stage," with both sides having agreed last week on coordinates for safe inbound and outbound shipping lanes.
- US forces on Tuesday targeted a Panama-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman that allegedly failed to respond to warnings while headed for an Iranian port, as part of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports.
- Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Tuesday, working to bring the US and Iran "to the negotiating table" as direct channels remain frozen.
- US media have reported that concerns over dwindling defensive munitions contributed to Trump's decision not to carry out threatened large-scale strikes against Iran.
Why it matters: The strait carries one-fifth of global oil and LNG during peacetime, yet Iran's blockade has pushed traffic to a one-week low while reports of dwindling US munitions restrain Trump's strike threats. With mediators pressing indirect channels and both sides exchanging maximalist demands, analysts warn the confrontation could harden into another prolonged, open-ended Middle East conflict.
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