President Trump has privately floated to senior aides that he is willing to walk away from the standoff with Iran without securing a nuclear deal, provided Tehran fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by both The Jerusalem Post and market commentary accounts including The Kobeissi Letter and Bull Theory on X. The shift marks a notable departure from the administration's original objective of pairing any ceasefire with a formal nuclear agreement.
Reporting indicates that goal has become increasingly difficult to achieve on its original terms, pushing the White House toward a narrower deal focused specifically on restoring shipping traffic through the strait rather than a comprehensive settlement.
A Shift From the Original War Aims
Under the terms being discussed, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iran-controlled portion of the strait and exit via an Oman-controlled route, paired with a 60-day ceasefire and no tolls on transiting traffic. If Iran's nuclear program stays in check and shipping traffic actually resumes, Trump would reportedly be more likely to extend that ceasefire indefinitely — effectively trading the original demand for denuclearization for a more limited, verifiable win on energy security.
Why Oil and Risk Markets Care
The Strait of Hormuz carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil trade, and any credible resolution to the standoff tends to compress the geopolitical risk premium built into oil prices. That kind of de-escalation doesn't stay contained to energy markets either — this cycle has shown bitcoin and broader crypto trading increasingly in step with macro risk sentiment, meaning a durable Hormuz deal would likely register well beyond oil desks.
Related: Iran Says Hormuz Deal With Oman Won't Fully Reopen the Strait
Still No Signed Deal
As of the latest reporting, no agreement had actually been finalized, despite earlier hopes that terms could be announced within days. The on-again, off-again nature of the talks underscores how fluid the situation remains — and why Trump's private willingness to settle for less than a full nuclear deal is being read as a meaningful signal of where the administration's priorities now sit.
