DUBAI — Iran declared Monday that it remains in command of the Strait of Hormuz and has no intention of resuming peace negotiations with the United States, following President Donald Trump’s decision over the weekend to call off a two-week bombing campaign against the country.
The U.S. military carried out 13 consecutive nights of escalating airstrikes before Trump suspended the operation. Iran had responded to those strikes by launching attacks against U.S. military bases in the region. Tehran said it would hold off on further attacks for as long as Washington’s bombing pause remains in effect.
According to a U.S. official and multiple American media reports, Trump’s decision to stand down reflected guidance from his top military leaders, who told him the campaign had accomplished as much as it could. The official told Reuters that commanders informed the president they were running low on viable targets. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also raised concerns about the dwindling supply of air defense weapons being used to shield U.S. bases across the region.
Reports from the New York Times, CNN, Axios, and other major outlets over the weekend similarly indicated that both civilian and military advisers had urged the president to halt the strikes.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that Trump paused the campaign to create space for diplomatic talks. However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei pushed back on that characterization during a televised press conference Monday, stating plainly that Iran had not requested a resumption of peace talks with the United States.
News of the bombing halt sent oil prices falling sharply, as markets expressed hope that disrupted global energy supplies might begin flowing again. Brent crude, which had briefly climbed above $100 per barrel last week for the first time since May, dropped roughly 7.8% by mid-morning Monday, settling just below $90 a barrel.
In what appeared to be a deliberate effort to show that U.S. airstrikes had not achieved their goal, Iran signaled it still holds authority over one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors for energy markets.
Several Iranian state media outlets cited an unnamed “informed source” reporting that Iran had turned away six “offending ships” Monday morning that had tried to pass through the strait without Iranian approval. One of those vessels, according to the source, had experienced “an accident.”
The source was quoted as saying: “As previously announced, the traffic route in the Strait of Hormuz is the route specified by Iran, and other routes are contaminated and have no way out.”
Trump had launched the renewed bombing campaign after Iran fired on vessels using a route through the strait that the United States has encouraged — one running close to the Omani coastline. Iran insists that ships must use a channel nearer to its own shore, which it controls and where it plans to collect transit fees.
The two weeks of U.S. airstrikes killed numerous people inside Iran and destroyed bridges, tunnels, and military infrastructure across the country’s southern region. Four American service members died from Iranian retaliatory fire directed at U.S. bases in nearby Arab nations. Iran also struck civilian infrastructure in Gulf countries, saying those attacks were in response to U.S. hits on civilian targets.
Last week, Iran’s Houthi allies threatened to expand the disruption to global oil supplies by announcing a blockade targeting Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in the Red Sea, pushing energy prices even higher.
With the U.S. bombing campaign now on hold, it remains unclear what tools Washington has left to pursue Trump’s stated goal of breaking Iran’s grip on the strait.
In June, the two countries agreed on a framework for negotiations intended to take place before the end of August, covering major issues including Iran’s nuclear program. However, both sides have disagreed over how the memorandum addresses the Strait of Hormuz — Washington says it requires Iran to allow free passage, while Tehran argues it gives Iran the right to oversee and regulate transit.
Iran is working to formalize its control over the strait through an agreement with Oman, which governs the opposite shoreline. A senior Omani delegation visited Tehran over the weekend to discuss the waterway’s future. The foreign ministers of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia each spoke by phone with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi to discuss the situation, according to state media in those countries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who joined Trump in launching the war in February but has not been part of the U.S.-Iran negotiations to end it, is expected to meet with Trump in Washington early this week.
