Iran says it still controls Hormuz, not seeking talks, after Trump halts bombing

DUBAI: Iran said on Monday (Jul 27) it was still in control of the Strait of Hormuz and not seeking to resume peace talks with the United States, after President Donald Trump halted a two-week bombing campaign that his top brass told him had run its course.

Trump's decision to suspend the campaign reflected advice from his top brass that the bombing had reached the limits of what it could achieve.

The US official told Reuters that military commanders had advised the president that they were running out of targets. The official said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, had also expressed concern over the depletion of air defence weapons.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said on Sunday Trump had paused the campaign to allow room for negotiations.

But the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, said in a televised press conference on Monday that Iran had not asked to resume peace talks with the United States.

The end of the US bombing campaign sent oil prices tumbling. Brent crude fell around 7.8 per cent by mid-morning on Monday to just under US$90.

Several Iranian state media outlets carried the same report, citing an 'informed source' as saying that Iran had turned around six 'offending ships' on Monday morning that had attempted to cross the strait without its permission.

'The traffic route in the Strait of Hormuz is the route specified by Iran, and other routes are contaminated and have no way out.'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet Trump in Washington early this week.