Status of US-Iran talks uncertain as ship struck in Hormuz

An unknown projectile struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, a key flashpoint in the US-Iran conflict, as President Donald Trump insisted the waterway could reopen within hours.

Speaking from the White House on Monday, Trump combined bullish optimism about diplomacy with bellicose threats, warning it was Iran's "last chance before decapitation."

Are the US and Iran currently holding talks?

The status of US-Iran talks remains uncertain. Trump insisted on Monday that negotiations were under way, saying "we are talking right now," but Iran's foreign ministry denied that any talks with Washington were taking place.

Tehran and Washington have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran, and diplomacy has failed to end the war despite a ceasefire and preliminary deal since.

Why is the Strait of Hormuz central to the conflict?

The Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has repeatedly triggered a return to fighting between the two sides. Iran wants to maintain control over the strait and charge tolls for passage through it, powers it did not exercise before the war and which the US fiercely opposes.

In a now-familiar pattern, Trump threatened last week to hit Iran "very hard," potentially targeting civilian infrastructure, before pulling back on Saturday and saying the "perimeters" of a deal were in place. He said on Monday that he had agreed to keep pursuing talks with Iran at the request of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries.

What are the talks focused on?

The talks are focused on reopening Hormuz, which Trump said could happen "literally by tomorrow," and on Iran's denuclearization, which he said could "take a little while." Trump said he expected to know by Tuesday how the talks were progressing, "one way or the other," and insisted the situation was "not very complex."

Hours earlier on social media, Trump had called Tehran "duplicitous" for denying it was negotiating. "Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades," he said. He also pointed to the United States' counter-blockade of Iranian ports, saying: "Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished."

More than five months into a war that has cost Washington billions of dollars, Iran remains able to fire missiles and drones at US and allied targets in the region and retains its enriched uranium stockpiles. Trump has placed particular emphasis on ending Iran's nuclear program, which Western nations say is aimed at acquiring atomic weapons, while Tehran insists it is a civilian program.

What happened to the ship struck in Hormuz?

Britain's maritime security agency UKMTO said early on Tuesday that a cargo vessel had been struck by an "unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. The vessel was not named, and authorities were investigating, UKMTO said, without offering details on damage or injuries.

Iran continues to impose an effective blockade on the strait and insists ships coordinate crossings with it and take a route hugging the Iranian coast. Many vessels have instead chosen a southern route closer to Oman, on the opposite side of the strait. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran is negotiating a new route with Muscat, but that this was separate from reopening Hormuz.