Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including collecting voluntary fees for using it, a Gulf source and a Western ​diplomat told Reuters on Tuesday.

The Omani proposals are intended to serve as a basis to end the disruption to trade through the strait caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

But a U.S. official on Tuesday ‌again rejected the idea of tolls or fees for ships transiting the strait, reiterating that it is an international waterway that should be free of Iranian control or restrictions. The official told Reuters that the deal under discussion would not include any tolls or fees.

President Donald Trump, who abruptly called off a two-week U.S. bombing campaign over the weekend in his latest strategic U-turn, said there were “good talks” under way with Iran but threatened to restart strikes unless negotiations deliver. Iran has denied seeking to resume talks with the United States.

Iran has said it would hold fire as ​long as Washington does. But U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday that Iran had launched multiple ballistic missiles “in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” and that the missles were successfully intercepted

Saudi Arabia said ​on Tuesday that its air defences intercepted and destroyed several drones targeting oil facilities. The attacks were launched from Iraqi territory by Iran-backed terrorist militias, Saudi Defence Ministry spokesperson Turki ⁠al-Maliki said.

Drone attacks were reported in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and northern Iran on Monday, and Jordan reported another drone being downed on Tuesday.

Washington launched fresh strikes earlier this month to break Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of ​global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.

Iran effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own after the United States and Israel attacked on February 28. A deal last month between the United States and Iran partially reopened it, ​with future talks planned to resolve larger issues including Iran’s nuclear program.

But the agreement collapsed in early July after Iran fired on ships using a channel it does not approve.

Iran has said it wants to manage the strait alongside Oman, which controls the opposite shore, and charge service fees to ships that use it. Washington wants to return to the status quo prior to the war, when ships were able to pass freely with no payments, and says charging mandatory fees would be illegal.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran had proposed ​to Oman that Iran manage one-way shipping through its side of the strait and Muscat manage part but not all of the opposite direction.

Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees would be voluntary, the Gulf source and ​a Western diplomat briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The system would be analogous to one in place on Asia’s Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to pay voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue operations.

The Western diplomat compared it to ‌a voluntary carbon ⁠tax for flights, where anyone buying a plane ticket can choose to tick a box if they want to pay to offset their emissions.

Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers met via video call on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in the conflict, including ways to intensify cooperation on issues related to freedom and safety of vessels through the waterway, a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

Iran’s joint military command again rejected a plan put forward by Trump for damages to vessels to be paid from frozen Iranian assets, state media reported. It said that any country or company that accepted such payments would be denied passage through the Strait of Hormuz by Iran’s armed forces.

Adding to the challenges for shipping in the region, the Iran-aligned Houthis in ​Yemen opened a new front against the U.S. and its ​allies on July 20, when they declared a blockade ⁠of Saudi ports on the Red Sea.

Late on Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, which they said was forced to turn back.

Trump called off more airstrikes after receiving advice from military commanders that the strategy had run its course. The 13 nights of renewed U.S. bombing killed scores in Iran and ​destroyed bridges and tunnels across the south as well as military targets.

Iran responded with attacks on U.S. bases in neighbouring countries that killed four service members as well as strikes ​on civil infrastructure in Gulf states ⁠that it said were in response to U.S. strikes on civilian targets.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Trump said the U.S. was in a strong position right now. He reiterated he was prepared to strike more Iranian targets but said he would prefer to avoid doing so.

Trump also repeated a threat to potentially target Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran’s main nuclear sites, saying: “If we don’t make a deal, ⁠we’ll take it ​out very easily”.

Iran says it has not sought any new negotiations with the United States, which it accuses of violating the agreement reached last month ​on a framework for talks to end the war.

Trump met Netanyahu amid strained relations between the two leaders. Israel was involved in the initial bombing campaign but has not been part of subsequent peace talks.

The end of the U.S. bombing campaign over the weekend sent oil prices tumbling by around 8% on ​Monday, and the fall continued on Tuesday. Brent crude futures were down 5.1% at less than $84 a barrel.

Syria ‌is seeking to reach a security agreement with Israel, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday.

He said a deal could pave the way for comprehensive peace between the two countries without compromising Syria’s right ​to the Golan Heights, an area that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and ​annexed in 1981.

“We are avoiding getting into confrontations,” ​he added.

Soon after former Syrian President Bashar Al Assad fell to rebel forces advancing under Sharaa’s leadership in ​December 2024, Israeli troops pushed into Syria and seized strategic territories. Israeli troops moved into a demilitarized zone inside Syria, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, which overlooks the capital Damascus.

Since then, the Israeli military has launched strikes on ​Syria and detained individuals from within the country. Israel has also intervened in what it calls missions to protect ​ethnic minority Druze in southwestern Syria.

On Sunday, Israeli forces shelled areas in Syria and destroyed an electrical transformer in the ‌village ⁠of Maariyah, depriving homes of power, Syria’s state news agency SANA said.

Sharaa’s comments coincided with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visiting Syria, the first trip by a United Nations chief to the country since 2009.

In a statement on X on Sunday, Guterres called for respect for Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.

“Violations by ​Israel of the 1974 Disengagement ​of Forces Agreement are ⁠unacceptable & must stop,” Guterres said.

Last year, Sharaa, who is trying to rehabilitate Syria’s image, became the first Syrian president since 1967 to take part in the ​U.N. General Assembly in New York. His government is seeking to rebuild ​international ties and ⁠the local economy after nearly 14 years of war and decades of isolation and death under Assad family rule.

Sharaa also said his government is “not considering military interventions” in Lebanon. The Iran-backed Shiite Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and ⁠Sharaa ​fought on opposing sides of the Syrian civil war.

Earlier this year, ​U.S. President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Sharaa about combating Hezbollah, after criticizing Israel for killing too many civilians ​in Lebanon.

The United States has paused military strikes on Iran as diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional conflict gain momentum, although tensions remain high across the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is continuing talks with Tehran and expressed optimism that Iranian officials are becoming “more serious” about negotiations after weeks of escalating hostilities.

The pause in military action follows nearly two weeks of intensified fighting that raised fears of a broader regional war. According to reports, the White House opted to prioritize diplomacy while maintaining military pressure through a continued U.S. naval presence in the region.

Despite the diplomatic push, violence has spread beyond the Gulf.

Yemen’s Houthi movement has launched attacks on Saudi oil facilities along the Red Sea coast, threatening key energy infrastructure and increasing concerns over the security of international shipping routes. The renewed attacks have also raised fears of further disruption to global oil supplies.

Meanwhile, Iran has accused Ukraine of carrying out an attack on one of its commercial vessels in the Caspian Sea and has summoned Ukrainian diplomats to protest the incident, adding another layer of tension to the already volatile regional situation.

Diplomatic efforts are continuing through regional mediators as both Washington and Tehran seek to avoid a return to full-scale conflict. However, analysts warn that the situation remains fragile, with any new military incident capable of derailing negotiations.

The conflict has already affected global energy markets, with continued uncertainty surrounding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most important oil transit routes—keeping governments and investors on alert.