Trump Denies Ongoing Iran Talks Amid Regional Tensions and Hormuz Dispute

US President Donald Trump has asserted that the United States is not engaged in talks with Iran and has not scheduled any, while insisting that the Strait of Hormuz remains open. In a social media post on Tuesday, the US leader maintained that while the naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in full force and effect, all other marine traffic is free to pass. He also posted a map depicting the strategic waterway as US territory.

These comments represent Trump’s latest about-face. On Monday, he had claimed that the US was engaged in back-channel conversations with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a claim that Tehran quickly rejected. Tuesday’s remarks appear to reflect Trump’s frustration as Iran and Oman, countries that border Hormuz, continue talks on managing the strait, despite the US president’s demand for Iran to surrender and his threat to bomb Oman should it interfere in the issue.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” Trump posted.

Iran has reiterated that Hormuz would remain closed until Washington met the terms of the pair’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June to end hostilities that began in March. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, responded to Trump’s post on social media, writing: “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man.”

Meanwhile, mediators continue trying to revive negotiations. Qatar stated on Tuesday that mediators are awaiting the expected Iran-Oman deal before pushing Washington and Tehran to resume talks. A US official told Al Jazeera that positive talks with Iran have been ongoing, but that Trump decided to wait and instructed his negotiating team to hold off until Tehran is ready to make a deal. The official insisted there is no conflict in the US administration’s position regarding talks with Iran.

Reflecting his latest change of tack, the US president posted an image on his Truth Social platform showing a map of the Strait of Hormuz captioned “New US Territory”, repeating his threat last week to declare the strait as such after Iran’s surrender. Top Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated in comments published by state media on Tuesday that the Strait would remain shut until the US met the conditions of the MoU, which include lifting the blockade of Iranian ports, lifting oil sanctions, releasing Tehran’s frozen assets, and ending threats and military operations on all fronts.

The rhetoric on both sides illustrates that outward progress towards peace talks and the return of maritime traffic through Hormuz has ground to a halt, threatening to extend the conflict. A missile threat alert was issued by the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday evening as its Defence Ministry reported detecting two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, both of which landed in the sea. The ministry added that it was on high alert and fully prepared to deal with any threats in a statement published on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, eight air strikes hit the Abu al-Duhur military base in Idlib’s eastern countryside, causing damage and no casualties, according to Syrian state media. States including the US have accused Israel of launching the strikes. US special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack called it an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.