US Says Iran Acknowledged 'Mistake' In Strait Attacks Ahead Of Oman Talks

WASHINGTON -- Senior US officials have said that Iran has privately acknowledged it made a mistake by attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and wants to resume negotiations with the Trump administration, while Washington is demanding Tehran publicly commit to keeping one of the world's busiest shipping lanes open.

Speaking on a background call with reporters on July 10, the officials said Iranian representatives are expected to meet Omani mediators on July 11 as indirect talks with the US resume. They described the meeting as a critical test of whether diplomacy can survive after this week's confrontation in the Gulf.

According to the officials, Iranian representatives told US interlocutors the attacks on commercial shipping were a mistake and said they wanted negotiations to continue. "They came back to the table and said, 'We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let's keep talking,'" one senior US official said.

Hard-Liners

The officials said Tehran privately attributed the attacks to an "errant" faction of hard-liners that it claimed was trying to derail negotiations with Washington.

The White House, they said, wants Iran to make that acknowledgment publicly, arguing that private assurances are insufficient after what Washington views as a violation of the cease-fire framework reached in June.

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Senior officials said the Trump administration's immediate priority is securing a public statement from Iran declaring that all shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz are open and that commercial vessels will no longer be targeted.

“What we're demanding is that the Iranians issue a public statement that acknowledges all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open and they're not shooting at ships anymore," one official said. "They're either going to give us that statement, or we're not going to have a good outcome.”

Washington expects Tehran to state after the Oman talks that maritime traffic through the strategic waterway will return to pre-conflict conditions. "If it's not their position," another official said, "it's not going to be a great day for them."

The officials declined to specify what measures Washington would take but said President Donald Trump has authorized military and economic pressure if Iran continues hostile actions.

Officials Say Trump Giving Diplomacy Limited Time

Officials said Trump has directed Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and presidential adviser Jared Kushner to continue leading the US negotiating effort. They did not specify which US officials would participate directly in the Oman talks.

While emphasizing that diplomacy remains the administration's preferred course, officials repeatedly said the window for negotiations is narrowing.

“President Trump is giving us the space to see if we can conclude that," one official said. "But not a lot of space and not a lot of time.”

Another official described the current situation as "definitely a wait-and-see moment."

Washington believes it is negotiating with Iranian counterparts who have the authority to reach an agreement, but officials added that the Strait of Hormuz crisis has raised doubts about Tehran's ability to implement any commitments.

Officials Cite Possible Divisions Inside Iran

Senior officials also suggested a power struggle may be unfolding within Iran over implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed in June.

According to them, Iranian representatives said the attacks on commercial shipping were carried out by an internal faction opposed to negotiations with Washington.

US, however, disputed that explanation. One official said Washington believes Iran was caught off guard by the volume of commercial traffic using the southern shipping lane along Oman's coast, which US officials believed would remain open under the memorandum of understanding.

According to them, Tehran reversed course after realizing how much oil and gas traffic continued moving through that corridor.

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Officials said the administration views Iran's willingness to guarantee freedom of navigation as the first major test of whether broader negotiations -- including over Iran's nuclear program -- can succeed.

"If Iran is not capable of honoring what we believe was the easiest part of the deal -- opening up the strait to trade -- we'll never get to the thornier issue of Iran's nuclear program," one official said.

Even as negotiations resume, officials said military options remain available.

They said Trump has made clear the US would respond with military and economic measures if Iran resumes attacks on commercial shipping or engages in other hostile acts.

Officials also said contingency plans are being prepared should diplomacy fail. "There's a lot of people who are planning for if we can't make a deal," one official said, adding that the president has a broad range of options.

The renewed diplomatic effort follows several days of heightened tensions after attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz prompted US military strikes and renewed sanctions before both sides agreed to return to negotiations through Omani mediation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, meanwhile, accused Washington on July 10 of violating the June memorandum of understanding through new US sanctions.

Writing on X, he said "there can only be mutual compliance" and argued that Tehran had honored its commitments while the United States had not.