Are the U.S. and Iran negotiating? President Trump says talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are happening right now, but Tehran flatly denies it. The diplomatic confusion comes as another cargo ship is attacked, sending oil prices higher.

President Donald Trump accused Iran of duplicity and insisted the two sides were discussing reopening the Strait of Hormuz as early as Tuesday, even as Tehran denied talks were even taking place.The diplomatic confusion was underscored by an attack on a cargo vessel near the Strait’s Oman Coast, as reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, an organization run by the British navy that helps protect commercial shipping in high-risk areas.With traffic through the bottleneck still at a trickle of its peacetime flow, the international oil benchmark Brent crude rose again by 2.7% Tuesday, reflecting uncertainty in the market rather than any confidence in the diplomatic process.A woman waves an Iranian flag as a banner with a portrait of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hangs in behind her in Tehran Tuesday.Vahid Salemi / APOn Monday, Trump branded Iran “unbelievably duplicitous,” and accused them of asking for talks on ending the war only to announce no discussions would be held.“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’” he wrote on Truth Social.“Talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman.’”In response to Trump’s claims of talks, Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters, “We currently do not have negotiations with America.” Iran is in discussions with Oman over a temporary safe route through the strait, Baghaei said, adding it has no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in the coming days.Muslim devotees walk past an anti-U.S.-Israel banner during a mourning procession in Tehran on Tuesday.AFP via Getty ImagesTrump later told reporters at the White House that negotiations with Tehran were “going on right now.” “It’s an amazing thing we have a little problem with Iran beca...