Two things can be true, and here they probably are.
The pause is being credited to diplomacy. UN Ambassador Mike Waltz said the halt was about giving talks 'some space,' and the contacts have been described as constructive.
Then Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said this, on July 27: 'At present, we are not engaged in any negotiations with the United States' [1]. Esmaeil Baghaei also denied reports that Tehran had asked for talks [1].
What is documented, as opposed to characterised, is narrower. An Omani delegation arrived in Tehran late Friday for talks on navigation mechanisms in the strait - a technical conversation about shipping lanes, not a negotiation about the war. Baghaei called those 'useful, and progress was made' [2]. Qatar and Pakistan are passing messages between the capitals and have floated a ten-day pause in fighting [2].
The honest version: there is diplomacy, and it is Iran-Oman on shipping plus third parties carrying messages. There is not, on Iran's own account, a US-Iran negotiation.
The caveat has to be stated because it cuts the other way. 'No negotiations' is exactly what a government says when indirect talks are proceeding and neither side wants to own them at home. A denial is not proof that nothing is happening - it is proof that Iran will not call it a negotiation, which is a smaller and different thing than the version being reported.
Baghaei added one more line that anchors all of it. The strait's status, he said, 'remains unchanged' [1].
