Iranian officials privately told Trump advisers that they made a mistake in shooting at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, that the attacks stemmed from an “errant” sect of hardliners who are trying to undermine negotiations, and that they want to keep talking, senior U.S. officials said on Friday.
The White House wants the regime to publicly acknowledge its mistake, which the Trump administration views as a violation of the ceasefire.
President Trump has directed his team — led by Vice President JD Vance, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — to continue negotiations.
The talks are to take place in Oman on Saturday.
The U.S. will respond, using military and economic leverage, if Iran continues to engage in hostile acts, the officials said.
“They came back to the table and said, ‘We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let’s keep talking,'” one official said.
After Saturday’s meeting in Oman, the administration expects Iran’s position to be that the strait will be open and managed in the same way it was before the conflict began.
If that is not their position, the official said, “it’s not going to be a great day for them.”
“We’re definitely in a wait-and-see moment,” another official said.
The Iranians have told the U.S. that the attacks on ships were initiated by an errant entity in their system who wants to undermine the deal.
The Trump administration, however, maintains that the ships were targeted for another reason. The U.S. believed that a southern lane in the Strait of Hormuz, the one along the Omani coast, would be open under the memorandum. But Iran was caught off guard by how rapidly traffic was moving — and how much of the oil and gas traffic was moving through the southern lane — and that is why they reneged, one of the officials said.
Mr. Trump is giving U.S. negotiators space and time to make a deal — but not a lot of time, one of the officials said.
Regarding what the president refers to as the “nuclear dust,” the remnants of Iran’s nuclear program, the officials said the U.S. would prefer to excavate it, but if Iran refuses to act like a “normal country,” there are other options, including keeping it buried.
If Iran is not capable of honoring what the U.S. believes was the easiest part of the deal – opening up the strait to trade – negotiators will never get to address the thornier issue of Iran’s nuclear program, another official said.
The officials declined to comment on reports that Israeli intelligence revealed plots against Mr. Trump, but said the president doesn’t make decisions based on fear or threats.