CAIRO (AP) – United States President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy and potentially help bring an end to the war.

The US, along with Israel, launched the war on February 28, citing various goals including toppling Tehran's government and ending its nuclear program. But the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iranian threats and attacks on shipping ground traffic through the waterway to a halt.

Closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas once passed, has driven up the price of fuel and basic goods far beyond the region, roiling the global economy. Trump is also under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of midterm congressional elections.