U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that discussions with Iran and Oman on increasing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have made progress, but the parties have yet to reach a final agreement.
"There's been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We're hoping that will happen very shortly," Rubio told reporters at the State Department.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran's leadership of sending mixed signals over diplomacy, saying Tehran privately sought talks to end the war while publicly denying negotiations, as he reiterated that pressure on the country would continue unless it agreed to a deal or what he called "total surrender."
In recent weeks, the U.S. and Iran have exchanged military strikes, with Washington attacking targets inside Iran and Tehran responding by targeting what it described as US military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, particularly Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The escalation followed a memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran in June and the launch of negotiations toward a final agreement.
The talks later stalled over disagreements concerning security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically important routes for energy supplies and global trade.
