Iran-US war: Trump says 'it always works out' as Strait of Hormuz talks stall

Donald Trump has declared that it “always works out” as he said the US will scale down the intensity of its efforts to reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Talks to end their war and reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have stalled, after Tehran demanded a series of conditions, including the payment of compensation, before it reopens the waterway.

"We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," he told Axios. "It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game.”

Tehran is in negotiations with Oman to partially open up the Strait, but set out six conditions the US must meet, including a permanent end to the war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq.

Stalling negotiations have seen the price of Brent crude ticked up for the fourth trading day in a row, now sitting at $84.

Meanwhile, the US is pushing for defence companies to “dramatically” accelerate weapons production as the Iran war drains through their missile supplies, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

Iran’s top security official has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain shut until the US meets six demands, including compensation for the war.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, laid out Iran’s terms in a statement on Saturday.

In his words, these were: 1. Never, and in no language, threaten Iran or insult the sanctities of this nation. 2. Permanently end the war and aggression against Iran and Iran’s allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq. 3. Lift the naval blockade and withdraw its military forces (naval and air) from around Iran. 4. Pay in full, without any reduction, the damages caused to Iran by the two wars of aggression and imposition. 5. Lift the unjust and illegal sanctions against the Iranian nation. 6. Unconditionally release the blocked and stolen assets of the Iranian people.

Donald Trump now claims the US has already mineswept the entire Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has maintained a grip on traffic passing between the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf while insisting the narrow channel remains shut.

Intertanko, the tanker owners association, relayed estimates in June there were around 80 mines still in the strait hindering navigation and keeping ships to agreed Iranian routes.

Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Donald Trump’s 15-point peace plan for Gaza, saying Israel will not withdraw from the enclave until Hamas fully disarms.

At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israel’s president said it "will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens”.

He insisted that any disarmament by the militant group, which ran Gaza for nearly two decades before carrying out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, must not be a “fictitious” one.

European shares and major Wall Street indexes were lower on Monday as hopes faded over a potential deal between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices jumped after Iran insisted that the United States must satisfy several demands before the Strait can reopen.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.17%.

The S&P 500 bucked the trend, edging 0.02% higher. Europe’s STOXX 600 index fell 0.16% on Monday.

That came after Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman about transit through the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages, but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions.

Those include compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats.

After Iran on Saturday demanded the US meet six new conditions, including compensation for the war, before they reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump on Monday indicated he was surprised by the terms - and demanded compensation from Iran.

“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict ... even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” he wrote on Truth Social.

“But it is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran ...”

He concluded: “I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations.”

Hopes of reopening the Strait appeared less likely in light of the post.

As we reported last night, the United Arab Emirates condemned an Iranian missile attack on its carrier as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Tehran of "acts of piracy".

State news agency WAM initially reported ADNOC as saying one of its vessels had been targeted by a missile early on Saturday and that the situation was under control.

The UAE Foreign Ministry later condemned what it called "the hostile Iranian attack" on an ADNOC vessel.

Neither statement gave details on the tanker, its cargo or possible damage. No injuries were reported.

The ministry said the attack violated a UN Security Council resolution on freedom of navigation and accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of "acts of piracy" by targeting commercial shipping and using the waterway as a tool of economic pressure.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has made six new appointments to the Revolutionary Guards and armed forces, according to his social channels.

Those include: - Major General Pilot Ali Abdollahi as chief of staff of the armed forces; - Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi as commander-in-chief of the IRGC.

Tehran said on Sunday that a new deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages - but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen if the US meets several conditions.

Agreement between Iran and Oman over the strait, which separates the two countries, is seen as vital to a wider deal to end the war.

One of the conditions being demanded by Tehran is compensation from the US following the launch of its war, alongside Israel, on 28 February.

The secretary of Iran's top national security body, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, listed other demands including ending US threats against Iran, stopping aggression against Iran and its Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni and Iraqi allies, lifting a blockade and sanctions on Iran and freeing Iranian assets.