Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Muscat on Saturday for talks with his Omani counterpart, Badr al-Busaidi, focused on security arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, as the United States pressed Tehran to issue an immediate public commitment to reopen all transit lanes and cease targeting commercial vessels. According to senior US officials cited by multiple American media outlets, Washington has communicated through direct and intermediary channels that it expects Iran to announce, by the end of the Muscat meeting, that the strait is fully open, that no tolls will be levied, and that attacks on merchant shipping will stop. The officials warned that failure to do so would bring unspecified but severe consequences, with one stating that “it will not be a good day for them.”

Viewed from Washington, the demand is a test of Iran’s ability to adhere to the ceasefire memorandum signed on 17 June, which US officials say Iran violated by firing on three commercial vessels earlier in the week. American sources claim that in private contacts, Iranian counterparts described the attacks as a “mistake” and attributed them to a “rogue” element within the power structure, pointing to an internal struggle between hardliners and pragmatists. The White House has linked progress on broader nuclear negotiations to a public Iranian statement on the strait, with one official saying that without a guarantee of safe passage, the two sides “will never move” to nuclear talks. President Donald Trump, while confirming that talks would continue, declared the ceasefire “over” and reimposed economic sanctions on Iranian oil, which Tehran’s foreign minister called a violation of the memorandum’s Article 9.

Iranian officials, however, have rejected the US narrative. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that Tehran did not request negotiations and only responded to a Qatari mediation initiative. Iranian state media, citing an informed source, insisted that decisions on the strait are taken solely by Iran and Oman, and that Qatar’s presence in the talks is limited to mediation and regional consultation under Article 5 of the Islamabad memorandum. Araghchi himself stressed that implementation of commitments can only be “mutual.” Meanwhile, a source close to the Iranian negotiating team told the Fars news agency that no talks with the US would occur until Washington retreats from its positions, including the formation of a Lebanon working group and the restoration of normal oil export flows.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global petroleum trade passes, has become the central flashpoint after the fragile ceasefire unravelled. The US launched two nights of strikes on Iranian targets in response to the ship attacks, which Iran’s health ministry said killed 17 people and wounded 115. Iran retaliated with missile or drone strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Regional capitals have intensified diplomatic efforts: Pakistan’s prime minister urged preservation of “hard-won peace gains,” while the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey held consultations calling for de-escalation. Oman, which had already coordinated with the US and Gulf allies to open a new shipping lane south of its coast—a move that angered Tehran—now hosts the critical meeting. The outcome is expected to determine whether the diplomatic track can be salvaged or whether military escalation will resume.