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Strikes paused, talks near
Iran said negotiations with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz were in their final stages, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking on Sunday after US President Donald Trump said he had called off a planned attack on Iran to allow time for diplomacy.
“Negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages”
Trump said the agreement would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat,” and he added he had canceled the attack “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
Iran’s acting defense minister said on Sunday that Tehran considers every threat from its adversaries credible and uses it to increase its military readiness and deterrence, while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged dialogue and efforts to de-escalate regional tensions in a phone call with Trump, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said negotiations with Oman aimed at finding a mutual mechanism in the Strait of Hormuz, and he said, “The strait was closed because the US reneged on its commitments and imposed a blockade.”
Competing claims and alerts
Iran’s acting defense minister, Seyyed Majid Ibn Al-Reza, said on X that “we consider every threat to be real and take it seriously,” after Trump’s announcement that he had canceled a planned attack.
The Guardian reported that hopes of a breakthrough faded on Sunday when Iran’s Mehr news agency said Trump’s claim that Tehran had requested a pause “was nothing but a new lie,” and that Iran’s armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality.”
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged Trump to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation, with the Saudi Press Agency saying the call stressed “the need to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm.”
As the standoff continued, US embassies issued security alerts across the region, and the Times of India said the identical alerts described the situation as “fluid” and warned that the Iranian regime remained “unpredictable.”
What’s at stake next
The Associated Press proposal cited by Iran International and CBS News said reopening the Strait of Hormuz would be paired with halting attacks across the region, including attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on Persian Gulf countries and Jordan, while the US would end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export oil.
“is locked and loaded and ready to go”
Iran International also said Iran’s acting defense minister framed threats as part of deterrence, while Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei insisted the understanding with Oman over a new transit route had “nothing to do with whether the Strait of Hormuz remains open or closed.”
The CNBC account of Trump’s decision said the US remains ready to strike Iran forcefully and “is locked and loaded and ready to go,” even as the pause was tied to rapidly making a deal.
In parallel, the Guardian reported that mediation efforts were continuing amid the standoff, and it quoted Eli Cohen saying, “With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear programme or advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there.”
