By ELENA BECATOROS, SAMY MAGDY and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press
CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy and potentially help bring an end to the war.
The U.S., along with Israel, launched the war on Feb. 28, citing various goals including toppling Tehran’s government and ending its nuclear program. But the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iranian threats and attacks on shipping ground traffic through the waterway to a halt.
Closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas once passed, has driven up the price of fuel and basic goods far beyond the region, roiling the global economy. Trump is also under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of midterm congressional elections.
Trump says a deal to reopen the strait is close
The U.S. president 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 Tuesday evening California time. “A lot of progress has been made.”
Oil prices initially eased on hopes of a deal that would allow shipping to resume but later inched upward. Brent crude, the international standard, was around $80 per barrel on Wednesday — still well below the levels it hit at the height of the conflict.
The U.S. and Iran reached a deal to open the strait in June, only for attacks to resume. In recent days, Trump has again alternately threatened massive strikes and voiced support for diplomatic efforts.
Attacks on shipping continue
Even as hopes increased that a deal on the Strait of Hormuz could be imminent, attacks on shipping in the region continued.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed Wednesday they had fired ballistic missiles toward a Saudi oil tanker called the Wafa in the Red Sea. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a prerecorded statement that the vessel was targeted off the Saudi port city of Yanbu. He didn’t provide evidence.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The attack is part of a recent escalation between the rebels and Saudi Arabia that threatened to reignite Yemen’s civil war, which pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition supporting the country’s government.
In July, the Houthis announced they were closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea for Saudi-linked shipping. That puts additional pressure on international shipping since the Red Sea became a key alternative route for Saudi oil exports during the war.
On Tuesday, an Indian-flagged commercial ship sank in the Red Sea off Yemen after being struck by an explosive-laden boat, Yemeni and Indian authorities said. Yemen’s coast guard rescued the crew, which included 13 Indians and a Yemeni. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Earlier Tuesday, a cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” about 37 kilometers (23 miles) northeast of the Omani port city of Al Khasab in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center.
Routes could be controlled by Iran and Oman, regional officials tell AP
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 war but has seen traffic reduced to a trickle.
In an exchange with reporters Monday, the U.S. president reiterated his public opposition to tolls being charged. “I’m not going to let them charge,” Trump said. “Anybody’s going to charge, we’ll charge.”
The regional officials said negotiations are still underway and that the final agreement could take a different form, with any deal linked to lifting the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports.
US and Iranian officials say progress is being made
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that Tehran’s talks with Oman were focused on “establishing safe inbound and outbound shipping lanes,” routes that “uphold sovereign rights while also addressing the national security considerations of both Iran and Oman.”
“The final results of these negotiations will be announced once concluded,” he added, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed progress had been made in those talks — but said they were not final.
Rubio has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, saying last month that would create a “very dangerous precedent.”
UN criticizes executions in Iran
Separately, the United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Türk, criticized what he said was an increase in executions and death sentences in Iran since March.
Türk said capital punishment is being used to instill fear and suppress dissent.
At least 56 people have been executed since March 19, he said, including 27 who were convicted in cases linked to anti-government protests that occurred across the country at the start of the year. Türk said that more than 100 more were at risk of execution on similar charges.
“Persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees are deeply troubling,” Türk said, alleging that confessions have been obtained under torture and ill-treatment, while saying some executions have reportedly been carried out in public and some only weeks after the suspect was arrested.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Houthi spokesman. He is Yahya Saree, not Sare.
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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Superville from Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Amer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington also contributed.