Report: Trump pressures Iran to reach an understanding on the Strait of Hormuz – today

US President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Iran to reach an agreement with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz as early as today (Tuesday), Bloomberg reported. According to the report, he demands that the agreement be reached in the next few hours or tomorrow at the latest, and warns that if the contacts fail, the United States may launch a large-scale attack on Iran.

Trump’s ultimatum comes after Reuters reported earlier today that a strategic decision was made in Tehran to harden positions vis-a-vis Washington and establish levers of pressure before opening negotiations. According to a senior Iranian source, the leadership came to the conclusion that previous attempts to show flexibility only led to increased American pressure, so it is now seeking to improve its positions through economic pressure – chiefly the control of the Strait of Hormuz.

At the same time, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that as part of the plan discussed with Oman, Tehran will receive full control over the entry of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, the exit route from the strait will pass through the route between Iran and Oman – and the latter will only allow vessels to leave after informing Iran. It is also claimed that the arrangement will give Tehran a complete picture of the vessel’s movement and the ability to “intervene if necessary”, and that Iran is not expected to agree to any other proposal regarding the opening of the strait.

An official in the Gulf who spoke to Reuters said that Tehran believes that the greater the pressure on the United States, the greater the chance that Trump will agree to concessions. “The Iranians believe that as they increase the pressure, Trump will eventually capitulate,” he said. According to him, Iran prefers to use economic levers, primarily the Strait of Hormuz, in order to obtain significant concessions without being dragged into a broad military conflict.