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US Treasury Secretary Says Chance of Hormuz Deal with Iran by Wednesday

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a media interview at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 30, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a media interview at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 30, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Treasury Secretary Says Chance of Hormuz Deal with Iran by Wednesday

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a media interview at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 30, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a media interview at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 30, 2026. (Reuters)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the United States could reach a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Wednesday, adding that this would stabilize energy prices.

"We are in talks with the Iranians, and I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict," Bessent said Tuesday in an interview with CNBC.

Asked if a deal would allow Iran to charge a toll on shipping using the strait, Bessent said: "I think it would be freedom of movement."

Bessent's comments echoed those of US President Donald Trump on Monday, who insisted the waterway could reopen within hours after he pulled back from threats of a massive military strike on Iran over the weekend.

Iran's foreign ministry has denied that negotiations with Washington were taking place, and on Tuesday, an unknown projectile hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a key point of tension in the US-Iran conflict.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday the United States is "involved" in negotiations between Oman and Iran on increasing traffic through the strait, through which around 20 percent of global oil shipments passed prior to the war.

"There's been progress made in those talks but not finality yet; we're hoping that will happen very shortly," the top diplomat told journalists.

Bessent was upbeat on the impact a deal with Iran over the strait would have on energy prices, where he said hundreds of ships are waiting to go out.

"Even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we've (seen) quite a few ships coming out even now," Bessent said.

"So you know, I'd expect the energy prices to settle back down, which, as I said, will be good for the entire world."

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World

Turkish F-16 Crashes After Pilot Ejects Safely

Six months ago, another Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed, killing the pilot, shortly after takeoff during an alert-response mission near the Bulgarian border. (AFP file)
Six months ago, another Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed, killing the pilot, shortly after takeoff during an alert-response mission near the Bulgarian border. (AFP file)
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Turkish F-16 Crashes After Pilot Ejects Safely

Six months ago, another Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed, killing the pilot, shortly after takeoff during an alert-response mission near the Bulgarian border. (AFP file)
Six months ago, another Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed, killing the pilot, shortly after takeoff during an alert-response mission near the Bulgarian border. (AFP file)

A F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in northwestern Türkiye on Wednesday but no-one was hurt, the pilot ejecting to safety, the defense ministry said.

"An F-16 aircraft belonging to our air force was involved in an accident during a training flight in Yalova, and our pilot survived by ejecting," a statement said, pledging a thorough investigation.

Yalova lies southeast of Istanbul on the shores of the Sea of Marmara.

CCTV footage broadcast by IHA news agency showed a plane hurtling through the air at a very low altitude before disappearing behind some trees, sending up a cloud of thick black smoke as it crashed.

According to the private NTV channel, the plane crashed near an air base, with several teams of rescuers dispatched to the scene. It said the pilot had been taken to hospital.

Six months ago, another Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed, killing the pilot, shortly after takeoff during an alert-response mission near the Bulgarian border.

In November, Türkiye suspended flights by its C-130 cargo planes after one crashed in Georgia while returning from Azerbaijan, killing all 20 on board.

World

More Than 25 Countries Condemn in ‘Strongest Terms’ Iran Executions

People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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More Than 25 Countries Condemn in ‘Strongest Terms’ Iran Executions

People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, August 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

More than 25 nations, including France, the UK and Canada, on Wednesday condemned the use of capital punishment by Iranian authorities, saying in a joint statement Tehran was executing protesters to "silence dissent".

The countries, joined by the European Union's top diplomat, "condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty" by Iran.

"The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified," the statement said.

"The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear."

Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany and other European nations also joined the statement calling for Iran "to immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained".

The statement joins growing alarm from the United Nations and rights groups over a surge in executions in recent months, after Iran was rocked by nationwide anti-government protests earlier in the year and the start of the Middle East war in February.

Earlier in August UN rights chief Volker Turk said the death penalty was being used by Tehran to "instill fear".

According to the UN, since March 19, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 people in cases linked to the protests.

More than 100 others are at risk of being put to death on similar charges, Turk said.

The UN and rights groups have warned of a lack of fair trials and forced confessions.

In late December last year, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living exploded into widespread anti-government demonstrations.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, but attributed the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

Rights groups based abroad recorded a far higher toll and said the security forces had fired on demonstrators.

The United States and Israel launched a joint attack on the country weeks later, on February 28, triggering the Middle East war.

Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied in the country, linked to both the conflict and the protests.

Last year, Iran put to death over 2,150 people, according to Amnesty International, making it again by a huge margin the world's most prolific executioner after China.

World

Trump Says US Will ‘Keep’ Hormuz Strait Control

President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP)
President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP)
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Trump Says US Will ‘Keep’ Hormuz Strait Control

President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP)
President Donald Trump talks to reporters after arriving on Air Force One Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and will "keep it."

"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it."

Trump has repeatedly claimed the United States controls the strait, which is vital for the flow of energy and other commodity shipping through the Middle East.

However, Iran says it effectively controls much of the waterway and intends to impose a toll system in response to the US war launched by Trump on February 28.

Late Tuesday, Trump told reporters: "We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now. They don't have control. We have total control. We own it."

US and Israeli forces have heavily bombed Iran's military and killed a swath of the country's leadership so far in the nearly six-month war, launched initially with goals including forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear power program and regime change.

Iran has resisted with missile attacks on US bases in the region, Israel and targets in Gulf countries.

Its most effective response has been to strike shipping in Hormuz, effectively snarling the trade route, rattling the world economy.

With his political popularity sinking at home ahead of the November midterm congressional elections, Trump has backed off threats to escalate the war in search of a decisive victory.

That leaves the war in a standoff.

However, the Republican says that the United States is prepared to focus on blockading Iranian ports in a strategy that he told Axios was "low-keying."

"We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," Trump told Axios on Sunday.