Hormuz talks move forward as Iran holds the strait closed

Oman says talks over the Strait of Hormuz are making progress, even as Iran warns that any deal wouldn't immediately reopen the waterway. The BBC reports that Iranian officials have made clear that opening the strait remains conditional.

The Independent carries separate reporting that a US military chief is seeking an "off-ramp" from the conflict, while an internal memo shows the Pentagon is pushing weapons manufacturers to accelerate production as the Iran confrontation burns through stockpiles.

The Strait of Hormuz sits between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It's the world's most important oil chokepoint - a third of seaborne-traded oil passes through it. Iran has closed it before: during the tanker war in the eighties, and intermittently since. The difference this time is the scale of the American commitment and the speed at which both sides are running through materiel.

What to watch: whether Oman can broker a partial reopening before the supply crunch forces a climb-down on either side. The strait decides who blinks first.