Trump snaps back to diplomacy, but Iran has other ideas

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The Hill's Headlines (PM) - August 03, 2026

The Hill's Headlines (PM) - August 03, 2026

President Trump is turning back to diplomacy in the Middle East, seeking a new deal with Iran that his administration failed to secure through waves of military strikes. 

But the negotiations, which the president claimed would resume Monday, got off to a rocky start, with Iran denying any resumption in talks with the U.S., while pursuing a bilateral deal with Oman over Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes. 

Diplomatic efforts have failed before, leading to a recurring pattern of U.S. threatening massive kinetic action before it is called off, a scenario that has played out at least five times since April. 

Gregory Brew, an Iran expert with Eurasia Group, said the U.S. is both part and “outside” the Oman-Iran talks, as Tehran doesn’t recognize any kind of U.S. role in managing the waterway, yet any reopening depends on Washington ending its naval blockade. 

“The Iranians have made it very clear they’re not going to reopen the Strait unless the U.S. de-escalates, unless the U.S. drops its blockade and likely provides other concessions,” Brew said in an interview with The Hill on Monday. 

Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said Iran seems to be eyeing a deal with Oman that has the backing of other Gulf countries, which it will then use to pressure the U.S. to lift its naval blockade.

“Iran could present it not just to the Omanis and the other immediate neighbors, but to the world as the only hurdle now to free and open shipping of the Strait of Hormuz is the U.S. naval blockade,” Campbell said.

“In any agreement that it would reach, I think both from a sort of geopolitical outmaneuvering standpoint, and also just from a lack of trust in Trump, Iran sees little need right now to engage in talks with the U.S. despite Trump’s persistent insistence that this is the case.”

Trump claimed on Monday that the diplomatic talks with Iran are ongoing and are being held at the request of Tehran and that they are expected “to go quickly, one way or the other.” 

“It’s not very complex,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “We’re talking about the strait, the opening of the strait, having........

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