Coverage spread: 2 sources — 1 center · 1 right
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Trump and Bessent both said Tuesday that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached within a day or two, describing talks as making significant progress.
- Iranian officials publicly deny direct talks with the U.S., saying negotiations go through Omani mediators, even as Trump insists productive contact is happening.
- Trump repeated his warning that the U.S. would strike Iran “really hard” if negotiations collapse again, while emphasizing he hopes it won’t be necessary.
- Both CNBC and Fox News note oil markets moved on the news, and that Trump previously called off a planned massive strike after Iran and regional countries asked for more time.
- CNBC focuses on the market and diplomatic mechanics — oil price swings, CENTCOM’s claim the strait’s southern route is already open, and third-party mediation reports involving Oman and Pakistan.
- Fox News’ straight news piece centers on Trump’s personal warnings and his account of the near-strike he called off, quoting his direct threats more extensively.
- Fox News also runs a separate opinion column arguing the U.S. objective has shifted toward weakening or collapsing the Iranian regime entirely, a framing not present in the CNBC report or Fox’s own news article.
- CNBC includes reporting on strained U.S. missile stockpiles (per Reuters and CNN) that the Fox pieces do not mention.
What Trump and Bessent said
President Donald Trump told reporters traveling with him in California late Tuesday that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “could happen tomorrow or the next day,” saying “a lot of progress has been made.” He repeated to Fox News that the strait “is going to be open very soon,” while warning that the U.S. military would respond forcefully if talks broke down again: “If they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that “we are in talks with the Iranians” and that “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.”
The state of the strait and the market reaction
U.S. Central Command said on X that the “southern route of the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open,” noting it had helped more than 1,000 commercial vessels transit despite what it called “unwarranted” Iranian aggression. That southern route runs through Omani waters rather than the stretch closer to Iranian territory. News of the talks and Bessent’s comments sent oil prices sharply lower and stocks higher: Brent crude fell 5.3% on Tuesday before rebounding 1.3% to $80.39 a barrel on Wednesday morning, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 5.7% and then rose 0.7% to $76.30.
Who’s actually negotiating with whom
Iranian officials have publicly denied holding direct talks with the United States, insisting negotiations run through Omani mediators. A senior Middle East diplomat told MS NOW that the U.S. and European countries are pressuring Oman to accept a temporary deal with Iran on reopening the strait. A senior Pakistani government official separately told MS NOW that a document on reopening the strait is “close to being finalized,” with Pakistan mediating between Iran and Oman and the U.S. involved only “indirectly.” Trump, for his part, brushed off Iran’s denials of direct contact, telling Fox News “they don’t like to admit that” but “it’s a little bit disconcerting,” adding that only actions matter, not statements.
How Trump describes the run-up to talks
Trump said the current talks followed his decision days earlier to hold off on what he described as the largest planned U.S. military strike since World War II, after Tehran and several Middle Eastern countries asked for more time. He recounted that Iranian officials “called me and said very politely, ‘Please, can we talk?'” and that he agreed. He said he was in no rush to abandon diplomacy but that “if they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be too bad,” and that a harder military strike remains available “hopefully we won’t have to use it.”
Strain on U.S. military stockpiles
Separately, the White House and Pentagon pushed back Tuesday on reports that the U.S. military had used nearly all of its long-range precision missiles during the conflict with Iran. Reuters reported the Army has depleted most of its stockpile of Army Tactical Missile Systems and Precision Strike Missiles, and CNN reported the military has exhausted a large share of a key munitions category. Officials insisted the U.S. still has “more than enough” munitions.
A harder-line view from Fox’s opinion pages
Separate from the news coverage, a Fox News opinion piece by retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Teichert argues the U.S. goal has shifted beyond dismantling Iran’s nuclear program toward weakening the regime’s ability to govern and survive. The piece cites Trump’s Camp David remarks that the U.S. is prepared to “hit them very hard” until the regime “can’t go on anymore,” and raises the possibility of Iran activating dormant assets in the West if pushed toward collapse. It also raises concerns that if Iran’s government fell without a transitional leader such as Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the country could descend into chaos, with regime remnants regrouping through mosques and underground networks.
Why this matters
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints, and disruption there has been a central driver of the roughly five-month conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Any credible deal to guarantee its security would ease pressure on global energy markets, which reacted immediately to Tuesday’s diplomatic signals. But the reporting shows real uncertainty about who is negotiating with whom, how close a deal actually is, and whether the U.S. military — described in some reports as low on certain precision munitions — has the sustained capacity for the larger strike Trump continues to threaten if talks fail again.
Sources
Featured photo: Broc via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)