Donald Trump has claimed the Strait of Hormuz is “sort of open”, but admitted that Iran still posed a threat to vessels.
The US president said although the shipping route was under US control, there was a possibility that Tehran could still “shoot things” or “drop a mine.”
He also insisted that the US had “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions amid reports of shortages but acknowledged that supply for certain munitions “was a bit tighter”.
Iran has claimed a deal with Oman to fully open up shipping through the strait is on the brink of being agreed, with negotiations now in their “final stages”.
The Iranian ministry’s spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway.
The proposed deal would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
US President Trump said there was an "all-day negotiation" on Tuesday with Iran, characterising the talks positively, while also threatening to hit the country "really hard" if a deal was not reached.
Iran threatens to strike critical energy infrastructure in response to US attacks
Iran has warned Gulf states that any fresh US attack on its territory would trigger retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, according to five sources cited by Reuters.
"The Iranian warning was unequivocal: if America targeted Iran's infrastructure, they would retaliate by striking Gulf energy facilities and other regional targets," one Gulf source told Reuters.
The warning comes as Iran and Oman discuss a potential deal that could give Tehran a greater role in overseeing ships transiting the strategic waterway, though key issues remain unresolved, Reuters reported.
A source said that the proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of war between Iran and the United States would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
While president Donald Trump has said a deal reopening the strait is imminent, US officials have repeatedly insisted they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world's most important trade route for energy supplies.
Trump’s Iran deal: Three scenarios for what could happen next
As Iran and Oman close in on a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz, there is growing optimism that the main hurdle preventing peace talks to end Donald Trump’s war may be cleared.
Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, said an agreement is in its “final stages”, while US president Donald Trump said an "all-day negotiation" had taken place with Tehran on Tuesday.
Senior Trump administration officials, including secretary of state Marco Rubio and treasury secretary Scott Bessent, suggested a deal was imminent earlier this week – but an agreement had not been reached by Thursday morning.
Alex Croft reports:
Americans believing US war on Iran will destabilise Middle East vastly outnumber those who don't: poll
US citizens widely expect the Middle East to continue sliding towards chaos as a result of ongoing war with Iran, a new poll by Reuters and Ipsos has found.
The poll concluded on Monday, as Donald Trump again backed away from his threatened "massive attacks" on Iran, underscoring uncertainty surrounding a conflict he initially predicted would bring a swift victory.
Half of the respondents said they believed military action in Iran would destabilise the Middle East in the coming year, around three times the 17 per cent who said it would lead to more stability.
Some 16 per cent said stability levels would remain around the same, and 17 per cent said they were unsure.
The majority of respondents (58 per cent) also believe has prices will continue to worsen, with only 15 per cent expecting them to improve.
Watch: Iran on brink of deal to open Hormuz as Trump denies munitions shortage
Watch: Trump says ‘we may have to’ send oil prices 'up again' as Iran war continues
Trump insists US has 'unlimited supply' of munitions
The US president has insisted that there are no munition shortages, denying reports about the state of the military’s arsenal.
He said America had “virtually unlimited supply”, but added that supply “was a bit tighter” for certain types of munitions.
It comes amid America’s supplemental request for $21bn to restock supply.
He said this was because the US “need more all the time,” adding: “We gave a tremendous amount of Ukraine. The Biden people did. And they were given free of charge
“Fortunately, I built up so much during my term, I rebuilt the military. I also loaded it up with a lot of stuff.
“We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, we have virtually unlimited supply. We have other where it’s a bit tighter.”
Strait of Hormuz is 'sort of open'
The Strait of Hormuz is “sort of open”, but Iran still poses a threat to vessel, Donald Trump has said.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, he said that while the key shipping route was under US control, Iran still has the ability to “shoot things” or “drop a mine.”
Asked if a deal had be reached to reopen Hormuz, the US president said: “It's sort of open right now...And now we control it, but they can always shoot things. They always have something or drop a mine.
“And if you have one mine sitting out there, you sort of mess things up because people don't want to take their billion-dollar boats and accidentally get hit by a mine, but I think we're doing very well...I'm involved in the negotiation. I think we're doing fine. Could be, it could be soon.”
Trump thinks war will 'end pretty soon'
Donald Trump has called reporters into the Oval Office, telling them he thinks the war in Iran is going to “end pretty soon”.
“When I started the very important excursion into the Islamic Republic of Iran, it was a very important excursion,” the president said.
He said the US had “no choice” but to invade Iran, saying it would have “catastrophic” for the world if it did not.
“We had oil down to less than two in many places like Iowa. Oil was down...gasoline was down at numbers that people hadn't seen in years.
“We'll see those days pretty soon again, based on everything I see.
“As soon as the war ends, and I think it's going to end pretty soon. I don't think they can go much longer.”
Oil prices slip as Iran-Oman talks fuel hopes for US-Iran peace deal
Oil prices dropped on Thursday as investors assessed whether progress in Iran-Oman talks could pave the way for a deal to end the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.5 per cent to $79.08 a barrel by 12.24am GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate futures declined 53 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $74.69 a barrel.
Brent settled up slightly on Wednesday, while WTI edged lower.
Trump confronted Hegseth at Camp David over Iran munitions shortage, report says
Donald Trump confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Camp David last week over a munitions shortage that could limit the president’s military options in the Iran war, according to a new report.
During the exchange on the sidelines of Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Friday, Trump asked Hegseth to explain why he had apparently been misled on the dwindling weapons stockpile, saying that he thought the issue “had been fixed,” two people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
Hegseth had blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for the shortages and for not making sure Trump was fully informed of the issue, according to the Post’s sources. The Trump administration has denied the reporting.
As the war drags into its sixth month, the Pentagon is reportedly running low on missile interceptors.
Rachel Dobkin reports:
