US eyes Hormuz deal 'today or tomorrow' as ship sinks in Red Sea

A top US official said Tuesday that a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be struck "today or tomorrow", sending oil prices tumbling on hopes of increased shipments through the vital waterway.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC "there is a chance we may have a deal" in the coming hours, echoing President Donald Trump.

Speaking from the White House on Monday, Trump kept up his familiar combination of optimism for diplomacy and threats, warning that this was Iran's "last chance before decapitation".

Tehran and Washington have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran. Despite a ceasefire and a preliminary deal in the months since, diplomacy has failed to end the conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has been the spark for renewed fighting.

Iran wants to control the strait and charge tolls, powers it did not exercise before the war, developments fiercely opposed by the US.

In what has become a regular pattern, Trump last week threatened to hit Iran "very hard", potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back, hinting a deal was near.

But Iran's foreign ministry denied negotiations with Washington, even as Trump insisted they were happening.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States was involved in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar, which has been mediating negotiations, said that diplomatic efforts were ongoing but that no direct Iran-US talks were planned.

Its leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke with Trump by phone on Tuesday, with Doha saying they discussed "efforts to de-escalate tensions".

Washington's diplomatic goals include reopening Hormuz and the denuclearisation of Iran, which Trump accepted could "take a little while".

The president previously called Tehran "duplicitous" for saying it was not negotiating, adding that a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports would remain "unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished".

Iran continues to impose an effective blockade on the strait and insists ships coordinate crossings with it.

Early on Tuesday, Britain's maritime security agency UKMTO said an unnamed cargo vessel had been struck by an "unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman.