Trump says United States has no ongoing talks with Iran as Hormuz negotiations continue

President Donald Trump posted on Tuesday that the United States has no current or scheduled talks with Iran and that the naval blockade of Iranian ports remains "in full force and effect," while stating that the Strait of Hormuz is open for marine traffic. The post included a map labeling the waterway as U.S. territory.

The statement contrasts with remarks made the previous day, when Trump claimed the U.S. was engaged in back-channel conversations with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a claim Tehran denied. Iran and Oman continue bilateral discussions on managing the strait, despite Trump’s demand that Iran surrender and his earlier threat to bomb Oman if it interfered.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, responded on social media, criticizing Trump’s comments about the strait.

Qatar said mediators are waiting for the expected Iran-Oman agreement before urging Washington and Tehran to resume negotiations. A U.S. official told Al Jazeera that “positive talks” with Iran have been ongoing, but that Trump has instructed his team to pause until Tehran is ready to make a deal, emphasizing that there is “no conflict” within the administration’s position.

Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterated that the strait will stay closed until the United States fulfills the terms of a June memorandum of understanding, which includes lifting the naval blockade, ending oil sanctions, releasing frozen assets and stopping military threats.

The United Arab Emirates reported detecting two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, which landed in the sea, and placed its air defenses on high alert. Separately, eight air strikes hit a Syrian military base in Idlib, an incident the United States attributed to Israel, with U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack calling it an unnecessary escalation.