(ATTN: UPDATES with more remarks in paras 9-10)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the United States and Iran could reach a deal this week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the deal would be about "freedom of movement" in the crucial waterway.

Bessent made the remarks in a CNBC interview as concerns have persisted over continuing war-related disruptions to commercial shipping through the strait, a key shipping route for oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other commodities.

"We are in talks with the Iranians," he was quoted as saying in the interview.

"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," he added.

Asked whether Iran would be allowed to impose a toll on ships transiting the strait, Bessent said, "It would be freedom of movement."

The secretary noted that if hundreds of ships stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the Middle East war are able to exit, oil prices should fall further.

"It's not just energy. It's fertilizer, it's refined products, it is the various industrial gases," he said. "We could see a big relief trade as those prices go down."

During a press availability at the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to progress in talks with Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.

"I think that there is a conversation and a negotiation that we are involved in between Oman and Iran on how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term as we move towards these longer-term talks about denuclearization," Rubio said, according to a transcript from the State Department.

"And suffice it to say there's been progress made in those talks but not finality yet. We're hoping that will happen very shortly."

On Monday, President Donald Trump said that Washington and Tehran are in talks over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz "literally" by Tuesday, describing the opening of the strait as "the first phase" and discussions on Iran's nuclear program as the "second phase."

sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

  • Fans, celebrities support BTS' Grammy boycott
  • Police drop underage dating charge against actor Kim Soo-hyun
  • S. Korea formally completes development of homegrown KF-21 fighter jet
  • S. Korea in talks with U.S. military over air base access following white phosphorus leak: sources

  • BTS says it will not submit music for next year's Grammys

  • Fans, celebrities support BTS' Grammy boycott

  • S. Korea formally completes development of homegrown KF-21 fighter jet
  • Police drop underage dating charge against actor Kim Soo-hyun
  • S. Korea in talks with U.S. military over air base access following white phosphorus leak: sources

  • (3rd LD) Temperatures soar to record 42.5 C in southeast

  • Serious heat warning issued for Seoul for 1st time

  • 8 student activists detained after trespassing on U.S. air base in Pyeongtaek
  • N. Korea slams U.S.-led naval exercise, vows to respond with 'deterrence of new level'
  • Galaxy Z series logs 1.44 mln preorders in S. Korea, highest on record
  • (LEAD) Serious heat warning issued for Seoul for 1st time