WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there are currently no talks or negotiations with Iran and that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in force.
“The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” the US President said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated,” Trump stated.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2026
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US has failed to force Iran to surrender and that “America is now begging to negotiate with us according to our conditions,” Al Jazeera reported.
Araghchi accused Israel of doing everything it can to sabotage the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran and prevent its implementation.
After war broke out between the United States and Iran in late February, Tehran shut the strait, which normally carries one fifth of the world’s energy supplies during peacetime.
Iran-Oman talks over Hormuz
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that talks with Oman over shipping through Strait of Hormuz are long overdue due to the complexity of the subject, and the involvement of multiple actors.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that in the Islamabad MoU between the US and Iran, “there is no subject titled a 60-day deadline”.
“What was envisioned in the memorandum was merely a 60-day period for discussions regarding ‘lifting sanctions’ and the ‘nuclear issue,’ which, in the event of failure to reach a result, had the capability of extension.”
Baghaei said that the “flagrant violation of the memorandum” by the US halted discussions.
Iran's FM Spox. Esmail Baghaei:
There is no provision titled “60-day deadline” in the text of the memorandum of understanding.
The Islamic Republic of Iran never formulates its policies under pressure, ultimatums, or time deadlines.
What was stipulated in the memorandum was… pic.twitter.com/VMtKbOG9D7
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 17, 2026
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said that Iran wants to reach a deal with Washington but is unwilling to accept the terms he considers necessary.
“They want to make a deal, but they are not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump said Washington was not seeking to extend the June memorandum of understanding with Iran, which was reached with Pakistani mediation and provided a framework for negotiations towards a comprehensive agreement. Asked whether he wanted to extend the arrangement, Trump replied: “No.”
Mediators making efforts to resume US-Iran talks
Qatar said Tuesday that mediators were awaiting a bilateral agreement between Iran and Oman over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz before returning to broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Iran and Oman, both coastal states bordering the strait, have for weeks been discussing the future of navigation through Hormuz, with Tehran saying the geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by both countries “have been agreed upon.”
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters that an agreement over Hormuz would make it much easier to resume negotiations between the US and Iran.
“We are also awaiting an agreement between the Sultanate of Oman and Iran regarding the Strait, which would enable us to return to the framework of negotiations,” Al Ansari said.
Also Read: Mediators Await Iran-Oman Deal on Hormuz Before Broader US Talks: Qatar
“The agreement over the Strait of Hormuz would make it much easier for us to resume the talks between the United States and Iran,” the spokesperson added.
Islamabad MoU framework for US-Iran talks
The US and Iran signed the Pakistan-brokered Islamabad memorandum of understanding in June to halt fighting and start technical-level negotiations for a comprehensive agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Under the Islamabad MoU, the US and Iran committed to halt military operations, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and negotiate a comprehensive agreement covering Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent ceasefire within 60 days.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said the strategic waterway will not be opened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
On Monday, Iran said that talks were “continuing in a serious manner” and views were being exchanged on the text of a “joint statement.”
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described Israel as the primary obstacle that has sabotaged ceasefire deal between US and Iran, IRNA news agency reported.
“The Zionist regime was and remains the biggest opponent and obstacle to the implementation of the memorandum of understanding. They made every effort to prevent such an agreement from being reached, every effort to make this agreement fail, and every effort to prevent it from being implemented,” he said.
Pakistan and Qatar mediation efforts
Pakistan and Qatar are mediating between Tehran and Washington under the framework of the Islamabad MoU to permanently end the conflict.
Pakistan is mediating talks between Iran and the United States after helping secure a ceasefire on April 8 and hosting high-level talks between the two sides in Islamabad on April 12 and 13.
Pakistan and Qatar later co-mediated the first round of high-level talks in Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21. The meeting was attended by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Following the meeting, Pakistan and Qatar said significant progress had been made in diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran.
The 60-day negotiating window created by the Islamabad MoU between the US and Iran expired on Monday with no final peace agreement.
The text of the June agreement, however, gives Washington and Tehran up to 60 days to negotiate and reach a final deal, with an extension possible by mutual consent.
The US position has been considerably tougher. President Donald Trump declared the agreement over on July 7 after renewed fighting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently said an MoU could not remain alive if Iran was violating its provisions, particularly those concerning shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Rubio said Washington remained open to genuine diplomacy.
The dispute over Hormuz is now at the heart of the crisis. Iran says the waterway will remain closed until Washington lifts sanctions, unfreezes Iranian assets and withdraws its forces.
Tehran also wants compensation for wartime damage. Washington, by contrast, insists on unrestricted shipping and has pursued economic and military pressure to force Iran to reopen the strait. Or it insists that the US would continue a complete blockade of Iran.
