Direct Talks Underway with Iran, War Nearing End: Trump Claims Again

US President Donald Trump has again said the United States’ war with Iran is “hopefully nearing an end”, while claiming that Iran is interested in reaching a deal. Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Wednesday local time.

Responding to a reporter’s question about whether he had recently received any message from Iran, Trump said he had spoken with Iran “directly”, according to Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera.

The US military said the Strait of Hormuz remained open to commercial shipping despite US sanctions on Iran’s maritime trade and attacks by Iran’s military on commercial vessels. The United States has also helped transport hundreds of millions of barrels of oil through the strategically important waterway.

US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, said on Wednesday that shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was “continuing”. Captain Hawkins also rejected claims that Iran controls the waterway.

The United States and Iran have made competing claims over control of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Speaking to Al Jazeera journalist Tom McRae, Hawkins said, “Since the beginning of May, we have helped commercial ships deliver more than 900 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz to global energy markets.”

Meanwhile, a bill named after late Senator Lindsey Graham was passed by the US House of Representatives in a 262-159 vote, Reuters reported. The legislation calls for extensive sanctions and tariffs on Iran and Russia to increase economic pressure on both countries.

The bill, titled the “Lindsey and Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026”, was introduced by Graham himself. The Senate approved the bill last month by an 86-11 vote.

Although the law primarily targets Russia, it includes provisions extending the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. Then-US President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 law, which had been due to expire in 2026. The new legislation extends its validity by another five years.

Dozens of Democratic representatives broke with their party position to vote for the bill alongside most Republican members. The legislation has now been sent to President Donald Trump for his signature to become law.