Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 left
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Trump has publicly claimed the US and Iran are in talks, including on possibly reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian officials have denied that direct negotiations are underway.
- Oman is serving as a key mediator between the US and Iran, with Qatar and Pakistan also involved in facilitating contact.
- A cargo vessel was attacked near the strait even as talk of a deal circulated, and oil prices have risen on the uncertainty.
Where they differ
- NBC News focuses on the diplomatic dispute itself — the dueling claims from Trump and Iran’s Baghaei, the mediators’ roles, and Bessent’s cautious optimism about a possible deal.
- The Guardian’s coverage of the Iran story is folded into a broader morning briefing and pivots quickly to a different angle: Trump’s criticism of oil companies’ profits from the conflict.
- The Guardian supplies detailed profit figures for Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Aramco and BP that NBC does not mention at all.
- NBC includes the attack near Oman’s coast and Brent crude’s 2.7% rise as direct evidence undercutting Trump’s optimism; the Guardian does not connect the profit figures back to that specific attack.
What Trump and Iran are each saying
President Donald Trump said Monday and Tuesday that the United States and Iran were actively negotiating, and predicted the Strait of Hormuz — a key oil shipping chokepoint that has seen traffic reduced to a trickle amid the conflict — could reopen “literally by tomorrow” as a first phase, with a second phase to follow on Iran’s nuclear program. On Truth Social, Trump accused Iran of “duplicity,” writing that Iranian officials asked for a meeting, “some would say ‘beg,'” then publicly denied any talks were happening once discussions began. At the White House, he said negotiations were “going on right now,” acknowledging Iran had denied it before but insisting “they’re not denying it now.”
Iran’s position, delivered by Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, was blunt: “We currently do not have negotiations with America.” Baghaei said Iran is instead talking with Oman about a temporary safe shipping route through the strait, and that Tehran has no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in the near term.
Oman, Qatar and the mediation effort
Oman has emerged as the go-between. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari, speaking at a Doha news conference, told NBC News that Oman has taken on “a very important role” in mediating, alongside Qatar and Pakistan, with all three “coordinating very closely” and exchanging drafts between the US and Iran. That description suggests indirect, shuttle-style diplomacy rather than direct talks — which may explain how both Trump’s claim of “talks” and Iran’s denial of “negotiations” can coexist: contact may be happening through intermediaries even if the US and Iran aren’t speaking to each other directly.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added a note of cautious optimism Tuesday, telling CNBC there was “a chance” of a deal within a day or two to reopen the strait and move toward a “more normalized position” in the conflict.
Signs of continued danger and market jitters
Despite the diplomatic talk, a cargo vessel was attacked near the Omani coast of the strait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, a British navy-run body that monitors threats to commercial shipping. That attack undercuts the sense that a resolution is close. Brent crude oil rose another 2.7% Tuesday, a reaction to the market’s continued uncertainty rather than any confidence that a deal is imminent.
Oil companies’ profits become a side controversy
Separately, Trump criticized oil companies for “making too much money” off the disruption his conflict with Iran has caused in global energy markets, saying firms should “give some of that back to the public.” The remark followed earnings reports showing ExxonMobil and Chevron together posted more than $26 billion in profit for the quarter ending in June. Chevron’s $12.2 billion quarterly profit was its highest ever, a fivefold jump from a year earlier; ExxonMobil’s $14.5 billion profit was double the prior year’s figure. The windfall wasn’t limited to US firms: Shell’s net profit doubled to nearly $10 billion, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco posted a 44% profit rise to $32.69 billion despite Strait of Hormuz disruptions, and BP reported its best quarterly profits since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, though BP’s new CEO Meg O’Neill said the company was “not making the most” of its potential and had “more to do.”
Why the confusion matters
The contradictory statements from Washington and Tehran reflect the fog typical of wartime diplomacy: leaders have incentives to claim progress (or deny weakness) regardless of what’s actually happening at the negotiating table. With the Strait of Hormuz carrying a large share of the world’s seaborne oil trade, even the possibility of it staying closed or contested keeps pressure on global energy prices. The attack near Oman’s coast, reported even as officials spoke of imminent deals, is a reminder that mediated diplomacy through Oman, Qatar and Pakistan hasn’t yet translated into safety on the water — and that oil companies, whatever the political rhetoric, are still profiting handsomely from the instability.
Sources
Featured photo: Official Navy Page from United States of America Alex R. Forster/U.S. Navy via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)