Conflicting US-Iran statements deepen uncertainty over Hormuz, uranium talks

The status of ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations remained unclear Tuesday as both sides issued conflicting statements on whether talks were advancing or on the verge of "collapse", deepening uncertainty over the future of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.

Fresh doubts emerged after Iranian state-linked media reported that Tehran had suspended indirect message exchanges with Washington following renewed Israeli military operations in Lebanon.

On Monday, Iran declared it would halt indirect exchanges and text-sharing with the US through mediators to protest Israel’s expanded ground assault in Lebanon, as per the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Iranian officials warned that any escalation by Israel could derail broader ceasefire efforts across the region and potentially trigger new threats against maritime traffic in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's US embassy said late on Monday that Hezbollah had accepted a US proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks", after Israel threatened more strikes on south Beirut on the eve of a fourth round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations.

The announcement came after US President Donald Trump said Monday he had persuaded Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreeing not to send troops to southern Beirut and the Lebanese militant group promising to stop attacks.

"The Lebanese authorities received confirmation of Hezbollah's acceptance of the US proposal providing for a mutual cessation of attacks," said an embassy statement published by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office.

It said the confirmation came after a telephone call between Aoun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

On Sunday, a senior US official had told AFP that Rubio spoke with Aoun and Netanyahu about the ongoing diplomatic negotiations.

Despite those reports, US President Donald Trump continued to insist that diplomacy remained alive and that discussions toward a broader settlement were still progressing.

The contradictory messaging has left diplomats, energy traders and regional governments struggling to assess whether negotiations are moving forward or unraveling.

At the centre of the dispute are two issues that negotiators have struggled to resolve for months: Iran’s stockpile of highly-enriched uranium and the future status of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments pass.

Iran has repeatedly argued that any agreement must recognise its role — what it frames as "sovereignty" — in securing and managing the strait, while US negotiators have pushed for guarantees that Hormuz remains open to unrestricted international shipping.

Tehran has also demanded sanctions relief, access to frozen assets and broader regional security concessions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei recently said that while negotiators had reached understandings on many issues, claims that a final agreement was imminent were premature.

“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” Baghaei said, adding that no one could yet claim a deal was close.

The uncertainty has rattled global energy markets.

Oil prices surged Monday after reports that talks had stalled and that Iran could once again threaten shipping through Hormuz.

Brent crude and US benchmark oil prices jumped as traders priced in the risk of renewed conflict and supply disruptions.

The current negotiations emerged from months of conflict that began after US and Israeli military operations against Iran earlier this year.

Since then, mediators including Pakistan and Oman have attempted to broker ceasefires and establish a framework for broader talks covering nuclear restrictions, sanctions, regional security and maritime navigation.

Diplomatic sources say progress has been made on some technical issues, but major disagreements remain unresolved.

Iran continues to resist US demands involving enriched uranium, while Washington has reportedly toughened language in draft proposals concerning nuclear materials and Hormuz navigation rights.

For now, the peace process appears trapped between optimism and escalation — with public statements from Washington and Tehran often pointing in opposite directions.

That ambiguity has become a source of concern not only for negotiators but also for governments and industries dependent on stable energy flows through the Gulf.