Iran says U.S. ready to return to commitments, denies direct negotiations

Iran said the U.S. was ready to "return to commitments," while denying that negotiations were ongoing with Washington, after President Donald Trump signaled a deal was in the making.

Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibadadi made those comments in an interview with state broadcaster IRNA on Wednesday, without elaborating on the said commitments, likely referring to the interim understanding reached in June.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 between the U.S. and Iran, Tehran was supposed to allow commercial vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz with no charge for 60 days. In return, Washington had committed to lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ships, among other things.

Trump had accused the Islamic republic's leaders on Monday stateside of being "duplicitous" about peace talks, saying they were underway "whether Iran wants to admit it or not."

Gharibadadi said that, "The path of understanding is between Iran and Oman, and no negotiations with the US have taken place during this period."

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comments.

In a statement on Thursday, Gharibadadi said that an Iran-Oman "understanding" on the Hormuz Strait was close to being finalized. Iran had demanded that the shipping routes in the strait should be changed, he said, adding that the "old routes no longer meet the current difficult conditions that have jeopardized the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei had earlier signaled that the deal was close, provided that "some third parties do not obstruct work in this regard."

On Tuesday night stateside, Axios reported that the U.S., Iran and Oman were closing in on an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington aiming for a Wednesday announcement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also told CNBC that a deal to unlock the waterway could be reached by Wednesday.

U.S. Central Command insisted in an X post Tuesday that the "southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels seeking to transit the international waterway." The southern route passes through Omani territorial waters, rather than the part closer to Iran.

Separately, UK's Maritime Trade Organisation said on Thursday it had received reports of explosions near tankers off Yemen and Oman on Wednesday.