Trump warns Iran to open Hormuz or get ‘hit very hard’

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as soon as Wednesday (Aug 5) but warned Iran it would get “hit very hard” if negotiations fell through.

Transit of the waterway, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has been a sticking point in talks and led to renewed fighting following an April ceasefire.

Iran has tightened its grip on Hormuz and wants to control the strait and charge tolls – powers it did not exercise before the war began on Feb 28.

Trump said Tuesday a deal with Iran to reopen Hormuz could happen “tomorrow or the next day”, telling reporters in California that negotiators “had a very good day”.

Earlier, he struck a more threatening tone.

“The strait is going to be open very soon, or they’re going to get hit very hard – and then the strait’s going to be open,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

“All you can do is fight your way out.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC earlier “there is a chance we may have a deal” by Wednesday or Thursday.

Underlining the volatile situation, one crew member was listed missing Tuesday on a merchant ship hit by a projectile in Hormuz, while an Indian ship in the Red Sea sank following an unattributed attack.

In what has become a regular pattern, Trump last week threatened to hit Iran “very hard”, potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back, hinting a deal was near.

Iran’s foreign ministry has denied negotiations with Washington, even as Trump insisted they were happening.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States was involved in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

News outlet Axios reported Tuesday that the US, Iran and Oman were nearing an interim deal to reopen the strait, which Washington was hoping to announce on Wednesday.

Axios, citing unnamed regional officials and a US official, said the deal on the table would be a 60-day arrangement for safe passage in the strait between Iran and Oman.