Last week, the Trump administration teased a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz closed by war. President Donald Trump said on August 4 that the deal "could happen tomorrow or the next day." Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the same day that "we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position." It is now August 10, and no deal is in sight.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary declared on Saturday that it would only allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen with a permanent end to the war, an end to the U.S. blockade and financial sanctions on Iran, and financial compensation. (The first two points were also part of the June peace memorandum that both countries signed, and the third is a new demand.) Trump told Axios on Sunday that he is now "only semi-negotiating" with Iran and that the situation will just "work out" on its own.
