The United States has issued what can be described as a final ultimatum to Iran, demanding a formal, written declaration that the Strait of Hormuz will be returned to its pre-war status and fully opened to international maritime traffic, with no transit fees imposed and a commitment not to attack ships passing through the strait — or face military escalation.
In response to this threat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rushed to Muscat on Wednesday to discuss a new proposal to open a wider international lane through the middle of the Strait of Hormuz, as an alternative to ships passing through either the northern Iranian lane or the southern Omani lane, according to the American website Axios, citing US officials.
Axios reported that Qatari negotiators are also participating in the talks in Muscat. A regional source told Axios that the parties are discussing the possibility of issuing a statement on the full and free opening of the middle passage to maritime traffic.
The American message carries both a political and military character simultaneously, as Washington seeks to exert direct pressure on Tehran to declare its commitment to freedom of navigation before the negotiations conclude. With reports of an Iranian plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump multiplying, Trump threatened that the United States would "completely obliterate" Iran if it attempted or succeeded in assassinating him.
He said that 1,000 missiles are ready and aimed at Iran, with thousands more to follow immediately, should the Iranian government carry out its threat — which has reverberated in many parts of the world — to assassinate him or attempt to do so.
Iranian newspapers published on Wednesday an artificial intelligence-generated image showing a "hit list and prisoners" targeted by Iran, following Trump's statements and the release of a written statement by Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, vowing revenge.
The image depicts both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the list also includes American, Israeli, and European officials.