WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has demanded that Iran publicly declare the Strait of Hormuz open and pledge to immediately halt attacks on commercial vessels, giving Tehran until Saturday to comply or face further consequences, senior U.S. officials said.
The ultimatum was conveyed to Iran both directly and through regional mediators, according to three U.S. officials who briefed reporters on Friday. Washington says Iran violated a memorandum of understanding signed with the United States three weeks ago by repeatedly firing on commercial ships in and around the strait, an escalation that triggered several exchanges of fire and pushed the fragile agreement toward collapse. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire “over” earlier this week.
“We want them to publicly say that they will stop shooting at ships and explicitly, or at least implicitly, acknowledge that they screwed up,” one U.S. official said, adding that Washington expects Iran to declare every channel in the strait open and toll-free. A second official warned of repercussions if Tehran does not comply: “If it is not their position tomorrow, it is not gonna be a great day for them.”
U.S. officials have publicly attributed this week’s attacks to an “errant part” of Iran’s system working to undermine the memorandum of understanding, a characterization intended to soften market reaction and avoid signaling a wider war. Privately, however, Iranian officials told Trump advisers the attacks stemmed from an “errant” faction of hardliners and said Tehran still wants to keep talking. A U.S. official said the Iranians reached out after two days of skirmishes this week, telling Washington, “We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let’s keep talking,” according to the official’s account relayed at Friday’s briefing.
Iran has publicly disputed that version of events. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei denied Friday that Tehran had requested negotiations with the United States, saying Iran had only agreed to a request from Qatari mediators to discuss the matter.
Baghaei said Araghchi’s trip to Oman would focus on the Strait of Hormuz and maritime security, and that Iran had accepted responsibility for normalizing shipping arrangements in the strait in coordination with Oman under the agreement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is due to meet Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi in Muscat on Saturday to discuss the dispute, a meeting U.S. officials are watching closely as a test of whether Tehran will adopt the demanded public position.
It is pertinent to mention here that Washington has cast the standoff as a broader test of Iran’s reliability ahead of any nuclear negotiations.
“If they never are able to honor the easiest part of the commitment, which is not shooting at ships, then, of course, we’re never going to get onto the nuclear negotiation,” a senior U.S. official said, describing the episode as a power struggle playing out within Iran’s leadership. Officials said Trump has given negotiators room to pursue a nuclear deal, “but not a lot of space and time,” and that contingency plans are being prepared should talks fail.
The U.S. has already carried out two rounds of retaliatory strikes on Iran this week, though Thursday was comparatively quiet as Trump signaled openness to renewed diplomacy. Commercial traffic through the strait has fallen sharply since the attacks began. At least 15 vessels transited the strait in the 24 hours to Friday, according to MarineTraffic data cited by a U.S. official, down from more than 20 ships on Thursday, while S&P Global data showed crossings falling to 34 ships on Thursday, the lowest daily level since June 28.
The Strait of Hormuz, which separates Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, normally carrying about 20% of global seaborne oil trade. Disruption to traffic has kept shipping insurance costs elevated and unsettled energy markets since fighting first erupted earlier this year.
It was not immediately clear what specific measures Washington would take if Iran fails to meet Saturday’s deadline. U.S. officials declined to specify consequences but said broadly that further action was possible.
