Iran claimed on Tuesday it will allow “non-hostile" ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but vowed to exclude US and Israeli vessels.
In a statement to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Tehran said that ships can still sail the Strait of Hormuz so long as they are “in coordination with Iranian authorities," the Financial Times reported.
Tehran, however, said that ships linked to the US and Israel, as well as “other participants in the aggression, do not qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage."
The Islamic Republic has effectively kept the Strait of Hormuz shut down since the war began, sealing away a key global trade route that oversees the shipment of 20% of the world’s oil supply.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday issued an ultimatum to Iran, demanding that it reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face strikes on its power plants.
That ultimatum was set to expire on Monday, but Trump announced it would be extended in order to allow for talks between the US and Iran.
Trump stated that the US is reaching out to “very solid" figures inside Iran to conduct the talks. Subsequent reports indicated that Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was representing Iran in the talks with the US, but Ghalibaf denied there were any talks at all.
On Tuesday, Trump spoke to the press at the White House about the ongoing war in Iran and claimed that Iran has given the US "a very big present."
Asked why he would engage in talks despite that lack of trust, Trump said, "Because they're going to make a deal. They're going to make a deal."
The President pointed to a recent development as evidence of progress. "They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present, and the present arrived today. It was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money. And I'm not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize, and they gave it to us."