Day 159 | US hopeful Hormuz deal will be done “today or tomorrow”

The United States was hopeful that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be done "today or tomorrow", a top official said Tuesday, sending oil prices tumbling on optimism for increased shipments in the vital waterway.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told broadcaster CNBC "there is a chance we may have a deal" in the coming hours, echoing remarks from President Donald Trump the day before.

Speaking from the White House on Monday, Trump kept up his now familiar combination of optimism for diplomacy and bellicose threats, warning that this was Iran's "last chance before decapitation".

Tehran and Washington have been at war since February 28, when the US and ‘Israel’ launched surprise attacks on Iran.

Despite a ceasefire and a preliminary deal in the months since, diplomacy has failed to end the conflict.

Underlining the fragility of the situation, one crew member was listed missing Tuesday on a merchant ship hit by a projectile in Hormuz, with fire erupting in the accommodation area.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil and gas supplies, has been the spark for repeated returns to fighting.

Iran wants to maintain control over and charge tolls in the strait, powers it did not exercise before the war and which the US fiercely opposes.

In what has become a regular pattern, Trump last week threatened to hit Iran "very hard", potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back later, hinting that a deal was near.

But Iran's foreign ministry denied negotiations with Washington were taking place, even as Trump insisted they were happening "right now".

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United States was involved in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the Hormuz.

"There's been progress made in those talks but not finality yet. We're hoping that will happen very shortly," he told journalists.

The closure of the Hormuz has rattled global markets, and rekindled hopes for its reopening drove benchmark Brent North Sea Crude prices down nearly five percent to $79.69 per barrel on Tuesday.