The U.S. and Iran extended their pause in hostilities, with the focus turning to talks between Tehran and Oman over restarting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Omani and Iranian negotiators met in Tehran over the weekend and discussions are ongoing, according to people familiar with the situation, asking not to be identified referring to sensitive matters. A deal to get ships moving through the waterway more frequently would enable the Islamic Republic and the U.S. to resume formal negotiations about Tehran’s nuclear program and permanently ending their five-month war, the people said.

Omani officials hope to make an announcement signaling progress in the next few days, the people said, though there’s no guarantee that will happen.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios on Monday there are currently “very deep talks” with Iran and suggested the negotiations involving Oman are the main track.

Separately to reporters, the American leader said Iran is talking because of the pressure caused by U.S. military strikes in recent weeks.

“The only reason they want to meet is because we’ve been hitting them very hard,” he said. “There’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good. If it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing.”

Asked how much patience he has left, he said he has “plenty of time.”

Brent crude oil has slumped to below $86 since the sides paused skirmishes on Friday. It soared to more than $100 a barrel on Thursday following the roughly two week flare up in fighting.

The oil price decline will likely ease pressure on Trump by triggering a fall in U.S. gasoline prices. Americans oppose the war and that’s hit the standing of Trump’s Republican Party ahead of mid-term elections in November.

Hormuz slump

Tensions in the region remain high and shipping traffic through the Hormuz strait has slumped again. Hardly any vessels are moving through the waterway — at least with their transponders turned on — as Iran continues to threaten any that try to transit without its permission.

The situation in the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb strait is similar after the Iran-backed Houthis last week warned ships not to call at Saudi Arabian ports.

Empty supertankers are heading to Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir to collect Saudi crude as observable traffic at the kingdom’s key Red Sea export hub of Yanbu dwindles following the Houthis’ move, which has seen then attack ships and Saudi territory in recent days.

At least eight crude carriers are signaling Sidi Kerir and set to arrive in the coming weeks through to mid-August, ship-tracking data shows.

On Monday, the Houthis claimed they targeted Saudi oil facilities with drones, although they didn’t say when. Saudi Arabia hasn’t announced an attack from Yemen since Saturday morning, but did say on Monday it intercepted several drones launched from Iraq at petroleum facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday. He said he plans to press the U.S. leader on keeping a “constant watch” on Iran’s nuclear program, one of many issues now in limbo following the breakdown of an interim peace deal from mid-June.