President Donald Trump warned Iran the Strait of Hormuz will reopen “very soon” or Tehran will get “hit very hard,” as the United States, Iran, and Oman reportedly close in on an interim agreement Washington hopes to announce Wednesday.
“The Strait is going to be open very soon, or they’re going to get hit very hard, and then the Strait is going to be open,” Trump told Fox News in an interview Tuesday night.
Trump said the United States had been prepared to unleash what he described as the largest military attack since World War II before Iran sought negotiations, while warning that the operation remained an option if Tehran backs away from a deal.
“We were going to do a tremendous attack, the biggest since World War II, and they called me and said, very politely, ‘Please, can we talk? Can we talk?’” Trump said. “And I said, ‘Yes, we can talk. Let’s get it done. Finally, let’s get it done.’”
“If they back out again, they’re going to get hit really hard,” he added. “They know that. They understand that. I have no choice. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple.”
Trump nevertheless offered an increasingly optimistic assessment of the negotiations, saying Washington and Tehran were having “very good discussions” and that Iran wanted an agreement despite its repeated public denials that it is negotiating with the United States.
“The only thing that matters is action,” Trump said. “And they want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be too bad.”
Hours later, after arriving in Los Angeles, Trump told reporters that negotiations were “moving along very nicely.”
Asked where matters stood with Iran, the president replied: “We’ll know in 48 hours.”
Trump’s comments came as the United States, Iran, and Oman were closing in on an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington aiming to announce the deal Wednesday, Axios reported, citing two regional sources and a U.S. official.
The emerging agreement would establish a 60-day temporary arrangement governing traffic through the strategic waterway, according to the report.
Under the proposed framework, all ships entering the Persian Gulf would travel through a northern lane in Iranian waters, while outbound vessels would use a southern lane through Omani waters in coordination with Iran. No tolls or fees would be charged during the 60-day period.
The parties would also work to clear naval mines from the strait’s median lane within 30 days. Once cleared, that lane would be used for both inbound and outbound traffic under a permanent arrangement to be negotiated between Iran and Oman.
The reported breakthrough follows weeks of negotiations and would grant Tehran a greater role over traffic through Hormuz than it held before the war, while stopping short of Iran’s demand to collect mandatory fees from vessels transiting the waterway.
The agreement is also intended to revive the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran and clear the way for renewed negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program — reflecting the two-stage process Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have described in recent days.
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Behind the scenes, the White House has been directly involved in the diplomatic effort, with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff holding several calls in recent days with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, according to the report.
Araghchi agreed to the framework in principle over the weekend but still required approval from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the country’s Supreme National Security Council, two regional sources told the outlet. A U.S. official and regional source said Iran’s leadership completed that approval process Tuesday.
The timing would place the reported Iranian approval days after Trump called off a planned massive U.S. attack to allow the diplomatic effort to proceed.
Qatar, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia have also participated in the mediation effort. Trump spoke by phone Tuesday with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about efforts to de-escalate tensions and bridge remaining differences between Washington and Tehran.
The official Qatari government readout said Trump praised Doha’s role in facilitating dialogue, while Sheikh Tamim urged continued diplomacy and adherence to the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran in June.
The latest developments also follow increasingly optimistic public assessments Tuesday from senior Trump administration officials.
“There’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet,” Rubio told reporters at the State Department. “We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”
Rubio said the immediate negotiations center on expanding safe passage through Hormuz, while the administration’s longer-term objective remains eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat.
“The denuclearization of Iran is the ultimate deal,” Rubio said. “I think the immediate deal, the one that you see a lot of focus on, is the Strait.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went further earlier Tuesday, predicting an agreement could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
“We are in talks with the Iranians,” Bessent told CNBC’s Squawk Box. “There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”
Bessent attributed the apparent diplomatic movement directly to Trump’s threat of overwhelming military action.
“We’ve seen President Trump, last week, threaten what would have been the largest military campaign since World War II against the Iranians, and now, because of that, we are in talks with the Iranians,” he said.
The optimism comes with a significant warning from recent history. U.S., Omani, and regional officials believed they had reached an understanding with Tehran roughly three weeks ago before Iran resumed attacks against commercial vessels, triggering two weeks of renewed fighting and bringing the sides close to a far larger confrontation.
Iran has also continued to publicly deny direct negotiations with Washington even as regional mediators shuttle proposals between the two sides — a discrepancy Trump has repeatedly accused Tehran of using as a negotiating tactic.
For now, Trump said the military option remains ready if the latest diplomatic push meets the same fate.
“The hard hit is yet to come, and hopefully we won’t have to use it,” Trump told Fox News. “I hope we won’t have to.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein
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