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US-Iran diplomacy still active as Trump deadline looms

AL-MONITOR Staff
AL-MONITOR Staff
Apr 7, 2026
Smoke rises following strikes on Tehran on April 7, 2026. New strikes rocked Tehran on April 7 with Iran showing no sign of backing down as a US deadline loomed for it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or have its civilian infrastructure "decimated", according to the US president.
Smoke rises following strikes on Tehran on April 7, 2026. New strikes rocked Tehran on April 7, with Iran showing no sign of backing down as a US deadline loomed for it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or have its civilian infrastructure "decimated," according to the US president.

Despite the escalating war of words between US President Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials, indirect diplomatic channels remained active Tuesday in hopes of securing a deal before Trump’s ultimatum at 8 p.m. EST.

Citing four sources, US outlet Axios reported that progress had been made in the past 24 hours, while the semiofficial Iranian outlet Tehran Times said indirect channels remain open. “Diplomatic and indirect channels of talks with the US are not CLOSED,” the outlet said in an X post, after earlier reporting that talks had been suspended.

The reports come as the UN Security Council failed to adopt a Bahrain-led measure aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with China and Russia exercising veto power.

The United States struck military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island in the early hours on Tuesday. Speaking at an event in Hungary, Vice President JD Vance said the strikes hit military sites and did not represent a shift in US strategy.

kharg
Infographic with satellite images of the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, and Kharg island, a vital hub for Iran's crude oil exports targeted by US airstrikes on March 14 (Graphic by Omar KAMAL and Gal ROMA / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has set an 8 p.m. EST deadline for Iran to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after extending it multiple times. He warned in a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

As of Monday, more than 3,500 people in Iran have been killed in US and Israeli strikes, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Regional states have already seen escalation. Iran claimed it attacked Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex in response to strikes on its Asaluyeh plants overnight, while Emirati officials reported that an Iranian missile struck a telecoms building in Sharjah. The US Embassy in Bahrain advised American staff and citizens in the country to shelter in place.

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