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U.S. President Donald Trump convened a White House Situation Room meeting on Saturday morning to discuss the renewed crisis around the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing negotiations with Iran, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials, as tensions rose less than a day after Trump said a deal to end the war could happen "within a day or two."
According to the report, the situation with Iran has reached a critical point, with the ceasefire expected to expire in three days and no final date set for a new meeting between U.S. and Iranian negotiators.
Iran's announcement Saturday that it had renewed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, along with multiple attacks on several vessels in the waterway, came less than 24 hours after Trump's earlier remarks about a possible breakthrough.
A senior U.S. official told Axios that if there is no breakthrough soon, the war could resume in the coming days.
The Situation Room meeting was attended by Vice President JD Vance, who is expected to take part in the next round of negotiations with Iran, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to a U.S. official.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine also attended, the official said.
The White House declined to comment for the report.
Pakistani army chief Asim Munir held mediation talks between the U.S. and Iran in Tehran this week, and U.S. officials said Trump spoke by phone at least once with Munir and the Iranians, according to Axios.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Saturday that the U.S. had presented new proposals during the talks and that Iran was reviewing them but had not yet responded.
According to a source familiar with the details of the talks, cited by Axios, the renewed crisis in Hormuz came after the sides had made progress in narrowing gaps over Iran's uranium enrichment and its enriched uranium stockpile.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Saturday, Trump said Iran "got a little cute ... they wanted to close up the Strait again."
He later added that Iran "can't blackmail us."
Trump also said the U.S. is still talking to Iran and that he would know by the end of the day whether the parties were going to move forward with a deal.
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