Diplomatic efforts to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz intensified on Saturday as Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, arrived in Muscat for talks mediated by Oman. The United States, through senior officials, demanded that Tehran issue a public statement declaring the waterway open and pledging to halt attacks on commercial shipping. The demand follows a week of reciprocal strikes that Washington views as a violation of the interim ceasefire agreement signed in June.

President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that the ceasefire was “OVER”, but confirmed that Iran had asked to continue talks — a characterisation Tehran immediately disputed. Iranian state television reported that the Islamic Republic had not requested negotiations but had agreed to host a Qatari mediator. Foreign Minister Araqchi accused the US of violating the ceasefire by revoking a licence authorising Iranian crude sales after three Qatari and Saudi tankers were struck earlier in the week. In communications with Washington, according to US officials, Iran attributed the ship attacks to an “errant part of their system”, a phrase interpreted as a reference to hardline elements seeking to undermine the diplomatic track.

The flare-up has cast further doubt over the memorandum of understanding reached in June, which committed Iran to ensuring safe passage for merchant vessels and mandated consultations with Oman on maritime services. Before the war, roughly 110 ships transited the strait daily; open-source data on Saturday showed only 15 vessels crossing in the previous 24 hours, a rate consistent with the depressed traffic of recent weeks. The disruption has driven oil prices to their largest weekly rise in two months, a politically sensitive development for the Trump administration ahead of November’s congressional elections. Viewed from Gulf capitals, the crisis has also drawn in Qatar and Pakistan as mediators, with a four-way call being arranged for Saturday.

The diplomatic push unfolds against a backdrop of heightened threats. Trump ordered the US military to prepare massive strikes if Iran attempts to assassinate him, citing Israeli intelligence about a specific plot. At the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — killed in the opening US-Israeli airstrikes on 28 February — mourners displayed banners vowing to kill the US president. US officials described the conversations with Iran as productive but insisted that a public commitment on the strait was a prerequisite for progress. The Omani talks are expected to discuss a potential “median lane” for free movement, though Iran’s Fars news agency quoted a source saying no negotiations would take place until the US retreated from its positions. The outcome of Saturday’s contacts is expected to determine the immediate trajectory of the diplomatic process.