Trump Says Strait of Hormuz Deal Is Close as Houthis Strike Saudi Tanker

President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be finalized as early as Wednesday or Thursday, as negotiations between Iran and Oman reached an advanced stage — even while Houthi militants struck a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, illustrating the fragility of any emerging agreement.

"It could happen — tomorrow or the next day," Trump told reporters traveling with him in California. "A lot of progress has been made."

Trump also told Fox News that the strait "is going to be open very soon," but warned Tehran that a military response remained on the table if diplomacy collapsed again. "If they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard," he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier told CNBC that the administration was in active talks with Iran and that a deal to open the strait and move toward a normalized position in the conflict could come within days. The announcement sent oil prices sharply lower on Tuesday — Brent crude fell more than five percent — before climbing back about one percent Wednesday to approximately $80 a barrel as fresh shipping attacks renewed uncertainty.

Iran's Foreign Minister Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed in an interview with state broadcaster IRIB that talks with Oman on the waterway's reopening had been positive, saying Tehran was working to establish "the necessary mechanisms for future arrangements for the management of shipping traffic." Iranian officials publicly denied holding direct talks with Washington, a position Trump called "such a lie."

Two regional officials familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press that the emerging framework would route inbound ships through an Iranian-controlled lane and outbound vessels through an Omani-controlled lane, with service fees charged for security and maritime environmental protection. The Trump administration had previously stated it would oppose any arrangement granting Iran toll authority over the strait — an open international waterway before the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran began Feb. 28.

A CBS News source described the Iran-Oman discussions as now focused primarily on the mechanics of how traffic would be managed once the waterway reopened.

Separately, two U.S. sources told CBS News that American forces have used nearly all of their global stockpile of long-range precision missiles during the five-month conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously dismissed concern over the stockpile, and Trump on Tuesday said Washington has "far more munitions than anyone in the world."

U.S. Central Command said in a post on social media that the strait's southern route — which passes through Omani territorial waters — remains "free and open" to commercial vessels and that the command had assisted more than 1,000 ships transiting the waterway despite what it called unwarranted Iranian aggression.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed Wednesday they fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker called the Wafa off the port city of Yanbu — the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the rebels declared a blockade of the kingdom on July 22. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the claim.

An Indian-flagged commercial vessel also sank in the Red Sea on Tuesday after being struck by an explosive-laden boat, according to Yemeni and Indian authorities. Yemen's coast guard rescued the 14-member crew. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Oil markets, already sensitive to any signals from the negotiations, have whipsawed through the week. Mortgage rates in the United States, which had recently touched their highest level in more than a year partly due to Iran-war-related oil price pressure, began easing as diplomatic hopes grew.