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Iran moved to restrict vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the continued US naval blockade, undermining expectations of an imminent peace deal touted by President Donald Trump.
The Islamic Republic on Saturday broadcast to ships that the waterway was closed to maritime traffic, and one supertanker reported gunfire, according to owners of vessels in the area who asked not to be identified because of the security situation.
Chaos in the Strait of Hormuz — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited before the US-Israel war on Iran began in February — erupted a day after Iran said the waterway would reopen to commercial vessels. Earlier in the day, Iran rejected a US demand to keep a naval blockade in place until a deal is signed, calling it maritime “banditry.”
The developments upend rising optimism that the sides were nearing a broad agreement to end a seven-week war that has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted energy exports from the Persian Gulf.
On Friday, President Trump said a deal with Iran may be imminent, adding that he would work with Iran to recover the country’s “nuclear dust.”
But Esmail Baghaei, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, told state television that enriched uranium “is as sacred to us as Iran’s soil, and it won’t be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.”
The material — which the US says was buried deep underground after its bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities during last year’s 12-day war — lies at the core of efforts to end the conflict, and its fate is central to any broader deal.
Momentum for a lasting peace had been building, with Tehran saying Friday that Hormuz is open for commercial shipping after Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Cracks began to emerge Saturday with Iran’s criticism of the continued US blockade.
The UK Navy soon after said a tanker was approached by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp gun boats before being fired at, saying that the vessel and its crew were safe.
Several oil tankers made a U-turn Saturday after appearing to try to transit the narrow waterway. It wasn’t immediately clear why they changed course.
Others still sought to seize the opportunity provided by the Friday announcement. The FPMC C Lord, a very large crude carrier laden with Qatari and Saudi crude, sailed south of the Iranian island of Larak and was heading into the Gulf of Oman around mid-Saturday, indicating its destination as Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates.
A handful of other oil carriers are also pointing toward the waterway. Earlier, three LNG carriers and an oil-product tanker — some of them sanctioned by the US — headed east into the Gulf of Oman, while a Pakistan-flagged products tanker followed not far behind. Several LNG carriers were also nearing the strait.
“While a deal appears to be in sight that may bring an end to the current round of US-Iran hostilities and relief to energy markets, it’s unlikely to result in a full or lasting peace,” Bloomberg Economics analysts including Jennifer Welch wrote in a report. “We assess any deal will be limited and fragile.”
Trump told Bloomberg in a phone interview on Friday that Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and “most of the main points” in discussions with the country are finalized.
He denied that the US would release any frozen funds to the Islamic Republic — a key demand of Tehran that he has long decried.
“I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said separately on the prospect of reaching a deal with Iran, as he was returning to Washington from a Phoenix event. “I think that is going to be very beneficial. And the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”
The president also floated the threat of resuming strikes on Iran once the current ceasefire expires next week. “Maybe I won’t extend it, so you have a blockade, and unfortunately we have to start dropping bombs again,” he said.
Trump’s comments and Tehran’s declaration on Hormuz on Friday were the latest signs the two sides were working behind the scenes on a deal after their first round of direct talks in Pakistan last week failed to yield an agreement.
The war saw Iran retaliate against US bases across the region and strike oil and gas infrastructure belonging to American allies in the Gulf, triggering a global energy crisis.
GLOBAL REACT: US-Iran Deal in Sight — Lasting Peace Still Remote
Oil, fuel and natural gas prices plunged on hopes that the latest developments would mean an end to the war and more energy supplies could transit safely through Hormuz. Brent crude dropped 9% on Friday to around $90 a barrel, wiping out most of the gains it posted since the onset of the war. Diesel prices in the US and Europe were also lower.
In a notable shift, real-world oil prices also eased significantly alongside headline futures prices. On Friday, dated Brent, the world’s most important physical price, fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since March 11. Stocks extended their rally on speculation the war would soon end.
One proposal under discussion is for the US to release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in return for Tehran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium, Axios reported, citing two US officials and two additional sources briefed on the talks whom it didn’t identify.
Trump pushed back on that idea in the phone interview, repeatedly saying “no” when asked if he would release the $20 billion.
Pakistani and US officials suggested another round of talks were in the works. Asked if he would travel to Pakistan to sign an agreement, Trump said, “I may.” Iran said it has yet to agree to another round of negotiations.
Many traders and analysts remain skeptical that meaningful crude flows can resume quickly. The US has said the blockade imposed earlier this week on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports remains in place.
In the phone interview, Trump said the US-Iran discussions are a “totally separate deal” from the Lebanon ceasefire. Still, Israel’s military campaign in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, had been a major impediment to a broader deal. That ceasefire was holding on Saturday.
With assistance from Sara Gharaibeh.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
