Source Denies Iran-US Deal Is Close

Iran's foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within six days if US demands ease, as tanker traffic stays depressed by mines and attacks.

A person involved in the Iran-US talks said Tuesday that reports a deal is close are wrong, pushing back on accounts that the two sides were nearing an agreement to halt hostilities in exchange for relief. A US source had earlier described the gap between the two sides as "extremely slim," an assessment made on September 28.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within six days if the United States meets Tehran's conditions, and said "excessive demands" from Washington are holding up negotiations. Tanker traffic through the strait remains far below its normal pace, held down by mines, fires and at least one sinking. Iran's navy said, citing Tasnim, that a tanker it called a violator caught fire in the strait, and the IRGC's spokesman said Iran could widen its blockade to the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Suez Canal, adding that Hormuz is not yet fully closed.

Iran's navy has said US forces struck its Konark naval base, a claim Washington has not confirmed. Following that claim, Iran said it has no choice but to assert control over Hormuz. Araghchi has also said Iran and Russia discussed the possibility of US talks and the situation in the strait. Separately, Treasury Secretary Bessent said Iran's economy is nearing what he called a non-linear break, pointing to a collapsing currency and rising panic inside the country.

The denial runs against an earlier report that a halt-for-relief deal was close and against mediators' talk of progress, reasserting the wide gap one US source called extremely slim. It comes after the conflict moved well past rhetoric into tanker strikes, mines, the disputed Konark strike and threats to US vessels near Hormuz, so ruling out an imminent deal mostly confirms that diplomacy remains secondary to events on the water. Oman has tied any resolution of the Hormuz standoff to this same bilateral track, so the denial removes one of the few signs that the standoff might ease before further incidents occur.