Iran says it retains control of Strait of Hormuz, rules out resuming US talks after Trump pauses bombing campaign

Iran said on Monday it remained in control of the Strait of Hormuz and had not sought to resume peace talks with the United States after President Donald Trump halted a two-week bombing campaign against the country.

Following 13 consecutive nights of escalating strikes that prompted Tehran to retaliate by targeting U.S. military bases, Trump suspended the bombing campaign over the weekend. Iran said it would also pause its attacks as long as the U.S. refrained from further strikes.

According to a U.S. official and multiple U.S. media reports, Trump's decision followed advice from military commanders that the bombing campaign had achieved the maximum it could in its effort to weaken Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz.


The U.S. official told Reuters that military commanders had informed the president they were running out of viable targets. The official also said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine had expressed concern over the depletion of air defence weapons used to protect U.S. bases across the region.

Similar reports, citing military and civilian advisers, were carried over the weekend by the New York Times, CNN, Axios and other news outlets.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Sunday Trump had paused the campaign to allow room for negotiations.

However, Iran rejected suggestions that talks with Washington were set to resume.

Speaking at a televised press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iran had not requested fresh peace negotiations with the United States.

The suspension of the U.S. bombing campaign eased concerns over disruptions to global oil supplies, sending crude prices sharply lower. Brent crude, which briefly crossed $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May, fell around 7.8% by Monday morning to below $90.

At the same time, Tehran sought to signal that the military campaign had failed to achieve its objective by asserting its continued control over the world's most critical energy shipping route.

Iran claims six ships were turned back

Several Iranian state media outlets, citing an "informed source", reported that six "offending ships" attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian permission were turned back on Monday morning. One of the vessels, the source said, had suffered "an accident".

"As previously announced, the traffic route in the Strait of Hormuz is the route specified by Iran, and other routes are contaminated and have no way out," the Iranian state media reports quoted the source as saying.

Trump launched the renewed bombing campaign after Iran fired at ships using a route through the Strait of Hormuz promoted by the United States, which has advised vessels to sail closer to Oman's coastline.

Iran maintains that ships may transit only through the channel closer to its own coast, where it says it exercises control and intends to levy transit fees.

The two-week bombing campaign killed scores of people in Iran and damaged bridges, tunnels and military infrastructure across the country's south. Iran's retaliatory strikes killed four U.S. service members at bases in neighbouring Arab countries, while Tehran also targeted civilian infrastructure in Gulf states, saying the attacks were in response to U.S. strikes on civilian sites.

Last week, Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened to widen disruptions to global oil supplies by announcing a blockade of Saudi Arabia's oil industry in the Red Sea, pushing oil prices even higher.

With the bombing campaign now paused, questions remain over how Washington plans to achieve Trump's stated objective of reducing Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States and Iran had reached an agreement in June on a framework for talks aimed at resolving issues including Tehran's nuclear programme by the end of August. However, the two sides have since disagreed over provisions relating to the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington arguing the framework guarantees freedom of navigation, while Tehran says it recognises Iran's authority to supervise transit.

Iran is also seeking to formalise its control over the waterway through an agreement with Oman, which lies on the opposite shore. A senior Omani delegation visited Tehran over the weekend for discussions on the future of the strait.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia held separate calls with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi to discuss developments related to the Strait of Hormuz, according to state media reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who joined Trump in launching military operations against Iran earlier this year but has not participated in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, is expected to meet the U.S. president in Washington later this week.