Trump and Iran clash over Strait of Hormuz talks as cargo ship is attacked

Trump later told reporters at the White House that negotiations with Tehran were “going on right now.”

“It’s an amazing thing we have a little problem with Iran because we have many talks, and we’ll say we have or we don’t have. You know, we’re straight about it, but they deny it,” Trump said. “But they’re not denying it now. They just put out a statement not denying it.”

On the Strait, he said the parties were discussing “having it open literally by tomorrow, completely open, and that’s phase one,” adding that the second phase of talks would focus on Iran’s nuclear program.

The president had earlier called off intense new strikes on Iran, giving space for what he said would be fresh negotiations.

Attacks have come the other way, though, with a cargo vessel reporting being struck by an “unknown projectile” of Oman’s coast Monday night, the UKMTO said. Maritime sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the vessel struck near Hormuz was a dry bulk ship. Its crew had to abandon the vessel and one seafarer was missing, the sources said.

Whereas in peacetime around 100 ships would transit the Strait in a day, at least six vessels passed through Monday, according to an NBC News analysis of MarineTraffic data.

Most of these, such as the Chinese owned tanker Starway and the Indian managed Horizon 1, continued to use the Iranian route which sees vessels sail south of Larak Island.

In the absence of an agreed safe route between Iran and Oman, some vessels are taking a chance travelling along the Omani coast, their transponders turned off so as not to broadcast their positions. The ship hit on Monday evening was one of these, showing the risk still posed to those sailing through the Strait.