Trump says he is personally involved in talks with Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump said a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has not yet been finalized, but he is personally involved in negotiations that are going “very well.”
Trump says Hormuz deal has not been reached but suggests agreement could come soon
President Donald Trump said Thursday that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has not yet been finalized, though he indicated negotiations with Iran are continuing and an agreement could come in the near future.
Asked by a reporter during an Oval Office event whether a deal had been reached, Trump stopped short of declaring a breakthrough.
"Well, I don't want to say it has been," Trump said. "It's sort of open right now."
Trump said the U.S. Navy continues to enforce the blockade around Iran, arguing that military control of the waterway has helped stabilize the situation. At the same time, he cautioned that shipping risks remain because Iran could still deploy naval mines or carry out attacks that would discourage commercial traffic.
"They can always shoot something," Trump said. "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."
Despite those concerns, Trump expressed confidence that negotiations are progressing.
"I think we're doing very well," he said. "I'm involved in the negotiation. I think we're doing fine. It could be. It could be soon."
Hours later, as he left a White House event honoring Team USA athletes, Trump offered a similarly optimistic assessment when asked whether there had been any developments.
"Moving along good," he told reporters before departing.
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Saudi Arabia bracing for possible coordinated attack from Iranian allies in Iraq, Yemen: report
Saudi Arabia is expecting imminent attacks from Iraqi militias in the north and Yemen’s Houthis in the south under the direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a report said.
A senior Saudi official told Reuters that intelligence reports from Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and other countries indicated that energy infrastructure, ports and airports are among the potential targets.
The official added that Saudi Arabia has observed drones and missiles being moved in preparation, suggesting a coordinated operation from both directions could be looming.
Saudi Arabia is ready to respond to “any aggression,” the official also told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan sign defense agreement following Iranian attacks on Middle East
The countries of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a defense agreement on Friday stipulating that “any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
It added that the deal is “intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression.
The agreement comes as Iran has attacked Saudi Arabia during Operation Epic Fury. Saudi Arabia, in late July, also joined U.S. strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
The defense pact was signed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif has acted as a key mediator in U.S.-Iran talks to end the war.
Expert says Iran's long-term goals extend beyond Hormuz negotiations
As the United States and Iran continue negotiating over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one Middle East expert warned that Tehran's long-term strategic objectives remain unchanged.
Nazee Moinian, an adjunct fellow at the Middle East Institute, said on Fox News that Iran's revolutionary government continues to view diminishing American influence as a core ideological goal, regardless of short-term diplomatic developments.
"Iran is a revolutionary state," Moinian said. "It's committed to deflect, diminish, and eventually destroy American power and influence in the region and around the world."
Moinian said Iran's leaders take what she described as a long-term view of their conflict with the United States, arguing they see the struggle as ideological rather than transactional.
"They are looking at this as a battle between good and evil, between victimizer and the victimized, between the corrupt and the uncorrupt," she said.
Her comments came as Iranian and U.S. officials have both suggested negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz are nearing a potential agreement, even as military tensions and proxy attacks continue across the region.
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