President Donald Trump has called a meeting in the White House Situation Room to discuss the renewed crisis over the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations with Iran, two US officials told Axios.
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The situation with Iran is at a critical juncture. The ceasefire is expected to expire in three days, and a final date for a new meeting between US and Iranian negotiators has not been set. Iran’s announced re-closure of the strait, as well as multiple Iranian attacks on several vessels in the waterway, came less than 24 hours after Trump said a deal to end the war could be reached “within a day or two.”
A senior American official said that if there is no breakthrough soon, the war could resume.
The Situation Room meeting was attended by Vice President J.D. Vance, who is expected to participate in the next round of talks with Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.
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The official said that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratliff and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Kaine were also present at the talks.
This week, Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir mediated talks between the United States and Iran in Tehran, and U.S. officials said Trump spoke by phone with Munir and the Iranians at least once. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the United States had presented new proposals during the talks and that Iran was reviewing them but had not yet responded.
According to the source, the renewed crisis in Hormuz arose after the parties failed to make progress on the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment and its stockpiles of enriched uranium.
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Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that “they wanted to close the strait again,” and later added that Iran “cannot blackmail us.”
Trump said the US was still in talks with Tehran and said he would know by the end of the day whether the parties were going to move forward with the deal.
Recall that due to the war with Iran, the US is stopping arms supplies to Europe, which will negatively affect Ukraine's defense capabilities.
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