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Iran not currently engaged in talks with US, FM spox says
Efforts underway for Tehran-Washington diplomatic solution: Qatar
Iran's Foreign Ministry said negotiations with Oman is about the Strait of Hormuz and there are currently no talks with the United States while Qatar said efforts are underway for a diplomatic solution between Tehran and Washington.
"We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing on Monday.
Baqaei described the talks with Oman as "constructive", saying they were aimed at reaching an agreement on a new route.
He added that no significant change in the status of the strategic waterway should be expected as long as, US military actions and a naval blockade continue.
“As long as US hostile actions continue, a naval blockade against Iran remains in place, US military aggression against Iran and its interests persists, and the United States continues to violate its commitments, there will naturally be no significant change in the situation in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
“The Strait was not closed because of disagreements between Iran and Oman. It has faced disruption since last March due to the military aggression of the United States and the Zionist regime,” he added.
Talks on reopening
Strait of Hormuz
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Tuesday that a deal with Iran could be reached on Tuesday or Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"We are in talks with the Iranians, and I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict," Bessent said in an interview with CNBC.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to hostile states and their allies in response to the US-Israeli aggression in February and then began asserting more control in retaliation for the US sustaining an illegal naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels despite a standing ceasefire mediated by Pakistan.
Remarks by the American official came after US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he had agreed to cancel a planned attack on Iran, claiming that Tehran and other regional countries had requested a pause after “the perimeters of a deal” had been reached.
The reported plans emerged amid continued tensions following Iran’s resistance to US pressure tactics and military aggression, with Iranian officials repeatedly warning that any new attack by Washington or Tel Aviv would trigger a strong response.
During a phone conversation on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan that Tehran remained prepared to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security.
“Any hostile action by the US or Israel, or participation or cooperation by regional countries in such actions, would be met with a decisive and proportionate response from Iran’s powerful armed forces,” Araghchi said.
Responding to a question about efforts to bring the US back into compliance with the Pakistan-mediated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the status of indirect message exchanges, Baqaei said Iran had never been the first party to violate any understanding.
“The ball has been in the US court for quite some time,” he said, adding that Washington announced on July 7 that it would no longer honor all of its commitments under the agreement.
Diplomatic efforts underway
Qatar said on Tuesday that efforts for a diplomatic solution between the United States and Iran were ongoing but that there were no direct talks between the sides planned.
"We can confirm that the efforts are still ongoing with all parties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told reporters at a regular briefing.
He said that negotiations were focused on "a short-term resolution that would help us reignite the talks and go back to the mediation efforts in its totality".
"Our focus right now is on lowering escalation, reopening the strait, and reopening the door for diplomacy between the parties" Al-Ansari said.
"We are hopeful that if we can get a resumption of the talks anytime soon, we'll be able to push forward towards a major deal," he added.