WASHINGTON, August 3 (HS/RIA Novosti) - US President Donald Trump daily estimates the state of talks with Iran, focusing on the Hormuz Strait and nuclear weapons, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Monday.

He's going to obviously assess every day if there's progress, if they're moving towards kind of the red lines that he's been very clear about, both the opening and the free movement of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, and making sure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon, and those are the two keys to this negotiation, Whitaker told Fox Business.

Earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported that Washington and Tehran will discuss opening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports at upcoming talks.

Overnight into June 18, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum to end the conflict that began on February 28. However, on July 8, Trump announced that the ceasefire was no longer in effect, and US forces have since carried out several series of strikes on Iran. The US Central Command claimed the strikes were in response to Iranian actions against commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces responded with strikes on US bases in the Middle East.

On July 12, Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz until the end of US interference in the region, following another wave of exchanges of strikes between the parties to the conflict. The next day, Trump said the United States would become a guardian of the Strait of Hormuz. He also reinstated the US blockade of Iranian ports.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar