Trump denies talks with Iran amid continued attacks near Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. was not in talks with Iran, while insisting the Strait of Hormuz was open and clear of sea mines, adding to uncertainty over efforts to end the nearly six-month war.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. He added that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

Trump also posted a picture of a red, white and blue map of the Strait of Hormuz labeled “New U.S. Territory,” days after warning he might claim the strategic waterway for the United States.

Trump’s comments came the same day an attack on a ship leaving the Strait of Hormuz resulted in an unspecified casualty.

The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile near Oman, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center, a British military organization that monitors threats to commercial shipping in the region. The statement did not say who fired the projectile or where it originated.

The strike damaged the ship’s engine room and caused a crew casualty, according to the statement, which did not say whether the mariner had been killed or injured. Other crew members were receiving help from the Omani coast guard, it said.

The attack, one of at least five reported since Friday, came after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement after a 60-day deadline. The proposed agreement was aimed at ending the conflict, curbing Tehran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Oman is in talks with Iran to allow more ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, Trump threatened to bomb Oman, a U.S. partner, if it “gets in the way.”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I don’t think they behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily just like we do others.”

Trump did not elaborate on what Omani officials had done to draw the threat.

The war began Feb. 28 with joint American and Israeli strikes that killed a number of senior Iranian leaders. Iran retaliated by striking U.S. bases in the region and attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to enforce a maritime blockade of Iranian ports. Navy forces have redirected 64 ships, disabled three others and boarded another two to ensure compliance as of Aug. 17, according to U.S. Central Command.

In all, more than 20 Navy ships are involved in U.S. military operations in the Middle East, including the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush.

More than 50,000 American service members are supporting various missions across the Middle East, according to CENTCOM.

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low in recent days.

The U.S. facilitated 57 transits of the strait from Aug. 13-15, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center. The historical daily average is 138.