Iranian Foreign Minister Denies Negotiations with the US on the Strait of Hormuz

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Kazem Gharibabadi, denied that Iran was currently negotiating with the US regarding the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasized that discussions with Oman were purely bilateral.

"The US claim that negotiations with Iran are underway is not true," he said, quoted by CNN, Thursday, August 6.

"There are no negotiations underway," he said.

Gharibabadi admitted that Tehran received a message from the US stating its readiness to return to its previous commitments. However, he said Iran had not decided whether to move to the second phase which could lead to the implementation of a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran.

US President Donald Trump earlier said the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened "in the near future", or the US would launch a new, hard-hitting attack on Iran.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said "very good discussions" were underway with Tehran, but he warned that if Iran withdrew from its commitments, he would return to launching attacks.