President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz the primary flashpoint.
Oman stresses importance of avoiding actions that could impact ongoing talks with Iran
Oman's foreign ministry stressed the importance of avoiding actions that could impact "ongoing" negotiations with Iran regarding the navigation through the Strait of Hormuz in a statement Saturday.
Oman condemned the "repeated attacks" of ships passing through the strait. The statement did not mention Iran directly, but urged against acts "that could affect these negotiations and the progress achieved, which takes into account the interests of all parties."
A woman walks past a mural depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on Aug. 8, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Oman said negotiations were "proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere."
This comes after the United Arab Emirates blamed Iran for targeting a ship used by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
9:22 AM EDT
Strait of Hormuz reopening unrelated to Iran-Oman talks, IRGC spokesperson says
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Gen. Hossein Mohebbi told reporters the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is "completely independent" of the negotiation process between Iran and Oman, and that it has its own strategic waterway and legal defensive mechanisms, according to Tasnim news agency.
Mohebbi stressed the strategic importance of the waterway, saying that in the Islamic Republic’s calculations, the Strait of Hormuz is not merely an economic passage and waterway but rather represents the country’s superior geopolitical capacity and power, which is utilized in accordance with Iran’s defense and sovereignty policies.
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 6, 2026.
Reuters
The reopening of the strait is entirely subject to conditions that Iran has formally established and communicated, Mohebbi said. He added that the manner and timing of its reopening directly depend on the extent to which the U.S. accepts those conditions.
He said the U.S. must completely refrain from interfering in negotiations between Iran and Oman or other regional countries, which, he said, are in their final stages.
“Whenever the American side accepts the conditions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and abandons its interventionist approach, the conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be provided,” Mohebbi concluded.
9:10 AM EDT
UAE condemns targeting of National Oil Company's ship in Strait of Hormuz
The United Arab Emirates is condemning an Iranian missile attack against a ship affiliated with the Abu Dhabi National Oil company (ADNOC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday.
No injuries were reported.
"Targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents acts of piracy by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps,' the statement said.
The Emirates News Agency said the ADNOC vessel was targeted early Saturday, and the situation was under control.
Aug 07, 2026, 3:53 PM EDT
Iran-Oman interim deal could give Iran more control over the Strait, unclear if US will accept it
Iranian officials have publicly said the deal reached with Oman would establish new shipping routes, allowing commercial vessels to enter the Persian Gulf though an Iranian-controlled route, and exit through an outbound lane controlled by Oman.
A U.S. official familiar with the negotiations confirmed the temporary route was discussed and said it would be limited to a period of 60 days, during which negotiators would work on a long-term deal to fully open the strait and continue hashing out a nuclear deal.
This arrangement would seemingly formalize Iranian control of the waterway.
The official cautioned that nothing is final until it is publicly announced.
People sail their boat past container ships anchoring near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb off Yemen's coast in the Gulf of Aden, August 6, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
Omani officials have proposed a Gulf-backed plan allowing Iran to receive voluntary contributions modeled after Asia's Strait of Malacca, to cover costs for security and environmental protection.
A source familiar with the proposal said voluntary payments could be on the table in the interim agreement.
People sail their boats past container ships anchoring near the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb off Yemen's coast in the Gulf of Aden, August 6, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. has maintained that the strait is an international waterway and opposes any fees and tolls.
Another U.S. official said the Trump administration wants total freedom of commercial navigation through the waterway without Iranian tolls or any arrangement requiring ships to obtain Tehran’s approval before transiting the strait.
“Any temporary routes will be without any impediments -- meaning no approvals or permissions and no tolls or charges,” a U.S. official told ABC News. “The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and no party controls the lanes or the ability to transit through them."
It's unclear at this point when a potential deal will be announced.
