The Trump administration has given Iran until Saturday to issue a formal statement declaring the Strait of Hormuz open to all shipping without tolls and committing to an immediate halt to attacks on commercial vessels. US officials, briefing a small group of journalists on Friday, said the message had been conveyed both directly and through regional intermediaries, and that Washington expects the pledge to be announced during a scheduled meeting in Muscat between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart. Failure to comply, the officials warned, would bring “harsh consequences” for Tehran.

According to the US accounts, Iranian officials privately acknowledged that the recent attacks on three commercial ships were a “mistake” and requested that negotiations continue. The Iranians attributed the incidents to a “rogue element” within their system, a characterisation that US officials said pointed to an internal power struggle between hardline and pragmatic factions over the implementation of a fragile memorandum of understanding signed three weeks earlier. The administration views the public statement as a test of Iran’s ability to control its own security apparatus and to honour more complex agreements.

The diplomatic ultimatum follows a sharp military escalation. After the ship attacks, President Donald Trump ordered two rounds of strikes on Iranian targets and declared the June ceasefire over, though he later confirmed that talks would proceed. Writing on Truth Social, Trump stated that Iran had asked for dialogue to continue and that the US had agreed, while making clear that the ceasefire had ended. US officials said the attacks had cast serious doubt on Tehran’s readiness to implement a nuclear accord, even as they described the three weeks of direct and indirect nuclear negotiations as productive.

Viewed from Washington, the Hormuz crisis is now intertwined with the broader nuclear file. US officials insisted that any final agreement would require Iran to surrender what they termed “nuclear dust” — a reference to enriched uranium stocks — and that military, diplomatic and economic options remain on the table if Tehran refuses. The International Maritime Organization’s supervisory council separately urged member states to reject Iranian efforts to control the strait. The confrontation unfolds within a wider Middle East war that began with a US-Israeli strike on Iran in late February, which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, and triggered Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf states, as well as the effective closure of the strait.

Tehran, according to US officials, had postponed key decisions until after Khamenei’s funeral on Thursday, and Washington is now awaiting Iran’s definitive stance following the Muscat talks. While the administration has given its negotiators “space and time, but not very much,” planning for alternative options is underway. The Saturday deadline marks a pivotal moment for the diplomatic track, with the next steps dependent on whether Iran issues the demanded public commitment.