00:00U.S. President Donald Trump said that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as soon as
00:06Wednesday,
00:06but warned Iran that it would get hit very hard if the talks fell through.
00:11Transit of the waterway, a key maritime corridor for global oil and gas shipping,
00:16has been a sticking point in the talks and led to renewed fighting despite a ceasefire agreed in April.
00:23Iran has tightened its grip on Hormuz and wants to take control of the Strait and charge tolls,
00:28powers it did not exercise before the war began on 28 February.
00:33Trump, speaking to reporters in California, said that negotiators had a, quote,
00:38very good day, a change in tone from earlier threats he had directed at the Islamic Republic.
00:44The Strait's going to be open very soon, or they're going to get hit very hard and then the Strait's
00:49going to be open.
00:50We were going to a tremendous attack, the biggest since World War II,
00:53and they called me and said, very politely, please, can we talk, can we talk, they didn't want.
01:00And I said, yes, we can talk. Let's get it done, finally, let's get it done.
01:06Iran has meanwhile doubled down on its claims that no talks are ongoing with the U.S.,
01:11even as Trump insisted they were happening.
01:13Qatar, which has been mediating the talks between Iran and Oman,
01:18said there were no direct talks between Washington and Tehran,
01:21but acknowledged that diplomatic efforts are underway.
01:26U.S. media reporting on the potential deal said it would include a 60-day safe passage arrangement
01:31in the Strait between Iran and Oman.
Comments