Trump says Strait of Hormuz deal could happen today or tomorrow amid Iran-Oman talks

Iran’s Foreign Minister Esmaeil Baqaei said in an interview with the country’s state broadcaster IRIB that talks with Oman on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have been positive.

“Iran is trying to formulate the necessary mechanisms for future arrangements for the management of shipping traffic in this strategic crossing, in cooperation with Oman, and the final results of these negotiations will be announced after the conclusion,” Baqaei said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday that they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu, in the Red Sea, as the rebels pressed on with their declared maritime blockade of the kingdom.

This was the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the start of the blockade on July 22, a Houthi military spokesman said.

The group “successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker ‘Wafa’ in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with a number of ballistic missiles,” Yahya Saree said in a video statement.

The Houthis declared they will escalate attacks in the northern Red Sea because Saudi Arabia is diverting its oil tankers there from the south in response to their blockade.

President Trump said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday or Thursday, while Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement to reopen the critical waterway and potentially help bring an end to the war.

Mr. Trump was asked by reporters traveling with him in California about a report on the Axios news site that an announcement on the Strait of Hormuz could be made on Wednesday.

“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” he said, speaking on Tuesday evening California time. “A lot of progress has been made.”

The possible agreement emerging from talks between Iran and Oman calls for ships to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, two regional officials told The Associated Press. Service fees would be charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.

The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, which was an open international waterway before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. 

In an exchange with reporters on Monday, the U.S. president reiterated his public opposition to tolls being charged in the strait. “I’m not going to let them charge,” Mr. Trump said. “Anybody’s going to charge, we’ll charge.”

An Iranian source familiar with the direct Iran-Oman talks has told CBS News the discussions between Tehran and Muscat are now focused largely on the mechanics of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

Under the current proposal, ships entering the strait would use the channel closest to Iran, with Iran coordinating inbound traffic, while vessels leaving the strait would use the Omani side, with Muscat managing outbound traffic. 

The proposal also includes a “service fee,” with the revenue split between Iran and Oman. 

According to the source, the broad outlines have largely been agreed upon, with the remaining discussions focused on implementation and timing.

“The southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels seeking to transit the international waterway,” U.S. Central Command said later Tuesday. 

The military added that U.S. forces have assisted more than 1,000 vessels in safely transiting through the strait over the past three months.

The U.S. has used nearly all of its global stockpile of long-range precision missiles during the war with Iran, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS News. 

Specifically, the U.S. has used virtually all of its Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, and Precision Strike Missiles, the sources said. Reuters was first to report that the U.S. had used “virtually all” of its long-range precision missiles during Operation Epic Fury. 

CBS News has previously reported that the U.S. has dwindling stockpiles of defensive interceptors and long-range missiles, which has become a pressure point within the administration, and that the U.S. cannot sustain the rate at which it expended precision munitions early in the war with Iran. 

U.S. officials said there are limited inventories of the ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles, and that the most pressing concern involves the number of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors, which have been used faster than the industry can replace them.  

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to CBS News: “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously dismissed concerns about the U.S. stockpile.

“That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle and ultimately our stockpiles are great, and they’re only getting stronger,” Hegseth said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on July 14. 

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