Trump Says U.S. Semi-Negotiates With Iran as Tehran Demands Hormuz Reopening Compensation

President Donald Trump told Axios the U.S. is only "semi-negotiating" with Iran as Tehran sets demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including compensating Iran for war damage.

“President Trump told Axios the U.S. is only "semi-negotiating" with Iran”

CBS News

Iran’s deputy speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Ali Nikzad, said in remarks reported by state broadcaster IRIB that "The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has no military solution" and that the U.S. and Israel must submit to a "new regional order."

ABC News

The dispute has left the Strait of Hormuz largely impassable for months, with the CNBC report saying the crisis has choked the strait for more than five months and the BBC describing it as effectively blockaded since the U.S. and Israel began attacking it in February.

Oil prices rose as the standoff continued, with CNBC reporting Brent crude futures jumping 1.1% to $84.45 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gaining 1% to $78.98.

In parallel, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked the government-held port city of Mocha late Sunday night for the second time in 24 hours, CBS News said, raising the risk of expansion into another strategic shipping route on the Red Sea.

Trump signaled a shift toward economic pressure, telling Axios he would allow economic pressure to pile on Tehran and telling CNBC’s report that "We are low-keying it" and "We are only semi-negotiating with them."

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference on Monday that there are no direct negotiations ongoing between Iran and the U.S., and that Tehran’s focus is now "on advancing negotiations with Oman" to determine the final destination of the shipping route.

Axar.Az

The BBC reported that Oman said talks were positive as Iran warned that any deal would not see an immediate reopening of the vital waterway, while CNN said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained "subdued" and "weakened further into the weekend."

Kpler data cited by CNN showed confirmed crossings fell from 15 on Friday to 11 on Saturday and six on Sunday, while CNN also said around half of the journeys used the Iranian-approved northern route.

In Washington’s view of the maritime dispute, Vice-President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday that "We’re really in the middle of the game here" and that the U.S. was applying "a whole host of tools — diplomatic, economic [and] military tools" to secure the best outcome for the American people.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr laid out conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with The Hill reporting that Zolghadr called on the U.S. to end its naval blockade and lift sanctions on Iran, and also said: "The Supreme National Security Council will never give up, whether in war or in negotiations."

“"The Supreme National Security Council will never give up, whether in war or in negotiations,"”

The Hill

The Straits Times said Zolghadr’s statement carried by state media demanded the U.S. pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets, and it described the demands as throwing the fate of the critical trade waterway into question.

NBC News reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were no ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, while also stating that "The intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations," after Tehran set out demands for reopening the strait.

The BBC said the conditions included Iran receiving compensation from the U.S. for what Tehran described as violations of the June memorandum of understanding, and it quoted Araghchi saying the reopening remained "subject to other conditions."

With shipping traffic dwindling and oil prices reacting to the impasse, the stakes described across the reports center on whether the U.S. will lift its naval blockade and sanctions and whether Iran will accept a route scheme with Oman that can replace previous traffic routes without reopening the strait on an immediate timeline.