Tehran has effectively closed off the critical waterway, turning back container ships on Friday, and Iranian lawmakers are considering whether to formalize charging fees to pass.
For a second time, President Trump extended the deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Just after stocks ended another bruising day, the president took to social media to promote progress in talks with Iran.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is drafting a formal authorization for the use of military force in Iran, seeking to put some parameters around the operation as the Trump administration has boxed out Congress.
The secretary of state said the United States and Iran were passing messages to each other as he headed to France for a diplomatic meeting of the Group of 7 nations.
President Trump pivoted after escalating threats. Israel also announced it had killed an Iranian commander leading efforts to block the Strait of Hormuz to almost all shipping traffic.
Steve Witkoff, a diplomatic envoy, used the Board of Peace to announce an agreement that could raze a Pakistan-owned Manhattan hotel. Now the country is involved in negotiating peace talks with Iran.
A jumble of emissaries — a friend, a family member, a dove and a hawk — on the Iran crisis reflects President Trump’s improvisational approach.
European politicians risk angering their voters if they join America’s war. Yet they could also face domestic upheaval if they take no action to reopen shipping routes that Iran has blocked and ease an energy crisis.
The fighting continued while conditions for a possible cease-fire were debated.