Trump says US will keep ‘monitoring’ the Strait of Hormuz

During a meeting with his cabinet at the White House, US President Donald Trump talked about efforts to end the conflict with Iran.

Trump said, “Iran is very intent, they want to make a deal. They’re not there yet… We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be satisfied. We’ll either be the same or we’ll just have to finish the job.”

Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said that the route will remain open and no one will control it. Trump was asked whether he would accept an agreement where Iran and Oman share the strait.

“The strait will be open to all. This is international waters. We will keep an eye on it, but no one will control it,” Trump said. “Oman will behave like everyone else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that.”

Trump also said the November midterms would not affect his Iran strategy. Democrats could get a big lead in the November election, which could pose a challenge to their campaigns with Iran.

“They thought they’d outrun me. You know, ‘We’ll outrun them. They’ve got the midterms,'” Trump said, in an apparent reference to the Iranians. “I don’t care about midterms.”

The US government appears to be disputing Iranian state media accounts of a tentative temporary agreement being negotiated between the two sides.

The Iranian report claimed that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been drafted and includes a US commitment to lift the naval blockade on Iran and withdraw its forces from the Gulf region.

Using its secondary account on Twitter called Rapid Response 47, the White House rejected the reports, insisting “facts matter.”

“This report by Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they ‘released’ is a complete fabrication,” the account claimed. “No one should believe what the Iranian state media is saying.”

The White House has yet to comment on its primary account or its website, but both sides have frequently released or leaked information about the status of the faltering talks, only to later dispute some or all of the details.

How have the US attacks affected the Iran peace deal?

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The US military will need at least three years to bring its stockpile of major weapons systems back to pre-Iran war levels, according to a new report from the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

The report found that the attacks in Iran have led to the widespread loss of US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, Patriot defense systems and THAAD drones and missile interceptors.

“The United States has enough weapons for any possible scenario in an Iran war, but declining stockpiles have created a window of vulnerability for a potential Western Pacific conflict,” the AP news agency quoted CSIS as saying, referring to a potential conflict with China.

The US is in a geopolitical competition with China, with Washington’s more powerful military giving it an advantage as Beijing seeks to project its power globally.

Beijing has said it wants the military capability to take over Taiwan by force before 2027 if necessary. The island, which broke away from the mainland after the Chinese Revolution, claims independence and is tacitly supported by many Western countries, including the US.

However, analysts have said the 2027 deadline is more of an aspiration than a concrete threat for Beijing to invade the island by that time.

According to Iranian state television, Washington hopes the memorandum of understanding will see Tehran agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. In return, the US would withdraw its troops from the vicinity and lift its naval blockade.

Under this agreement, Iran will jointly manage the key waterway with Oman.

Before the war, the strait was a major waterway for international shipping, particularly for oil and other energy exports. The months-long disruption has already had a significant negative impact on the global economy.

Iranian officials stressed that details had not yet been finalized, and any agreement would have to go before the UN Security Council before becoming a binding resolution.

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Park Eun-ju said on Wednesday that the government had summoned the Iranian ambassador following an investigation into an explosion on a Korean shipping ship earlier this month.

HMM Namu was navigating the flashpoint Strait of Hormuz on 4 May when it was hit by a projectile, injuring one crew member.

“Various evidence points to Iran,” Park was quoted as saying. korea herald That being said, he stopped short of saying whether he thought it was a deliberate attack.

He said the investigation showed the projectile was an Iranian-developed anti-ship missile.

Park said Seoul would pressure Tehran “to take responsible steps, including steps to prevent recurrence.”

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday, a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a ceasefire agreement was possible. Trump has said an agreement was “extensively negotiated” but final details remained in flux.

From the Iranian side, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) told Iranian media that the likelihood of renewed hostilities was “low”.

“The chances of war are low due to the weakness of the enemy, the armed forces are sitting in wait with full magazines,” said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political chief of the IRGC Navy.

It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will actually achieve anything significant from the agreement, as little has changed politically in Tehran and a key part of the agreement is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which would return it to pre-war conditions.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the newly appointed head of Hamas’s armed wing was killed in strikes on Gaza a day earlier.

Hamas has not confirmed that Mohammed Odeh, whose predecessor was also killed in Gaza a few days earlier, is dead. However, a relative told Reuters news agency that he had in fact died.

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Gaza health officials said at least seven people were killed and several others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza on Tuesday.

Despite a January 2025 ceasefire agreement, Israel has carried out sporadic attacks in Gaza over the past year, while also accusing Hamas of failing to fulfill its promise to completely disarm. Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Israeli officials have said a top Hamas leader was killed in the latest strikes in Gaza, although the terrorist group has not yet confirmed the news.

At the same time, signals from both Iran and the United States indicated that their two-month conflict could be headed toward a peace agreement.

Check back here for updates from the broader Middle East.