Trump on Iran: 'We're having very good discussions', insists Tehran keen to find a way to end conflict
Talks seek 60-day safe-passage pact as Trump warns of military response
US President Donald Trump said late on Tuesday that "very good discussions" have been made and insisted that Iran was keen to find a way to bring an end to the conflict.
Trump said that talks were "ongoing", as Axios reported that the US, Iran and Oman were nearing an interim deal to reopen the strait, which Washington was hoping to announce Wednesday.
However, Trump stressed in an interview with Fox News that Iran would be "hit very hard" unless the strategic Strait of Hormuz is reopened "very soon."
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"The strait is going to be open very soon, or they're going to get hit very hard — and then the strait's going to be open," Trump said during a visit to California.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has been the spark for repeated returns to fighting.
"We're having very good discussions," he said, insisting that Iran was keen to find a way to bring an end to a conflict that began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
"The only thing that matters is action. And they want to make a deal. We'll see what happens."
I have plenty of time: Trump
"I have plenty of time," he added.
Axios, citing unnamed regional officials and a US official, said the deal on the table would be a 60-day arrangement for safe passage in the strait between Iran and Oman.
That deal — which would not involve the payment of tolls — could then be extended, the report said.
All traffic heading into the Gulf would take a northern shipping lane, and outbound traffic would use a southern lane through Oman's territorial waters.
