Oil prices rose on Monday as uncertainty continued over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said an agreement with Oman on establishing new shipping routes was in its final stages, but stressed that the United States still needed to meet additional conditions.
اضافة اعلان
Brent crude futures rose $1.20, or 1.44%, to $84.79 a barrel by 22:06 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.12, or 1.08%, to $79.29 a barrel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that there were no direct talks with the United States, but rather an exchange of messages through intermediaries.
Mehr News Agency quoted Araghchi as saying that there would be no negotiations as long as what he described as U.S. violations of the interim agreement continued.
Araghchi said negotiations with Oman over establishing a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz were progressing positively and had reached their final stages.
He confirmed that the existing routes through the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced with new routes as part of the negotiations with Oman, adding that experts were working on maps.
Araghchi explained that reaching an agreement with Oman would not necessarily mean the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as additional conditions would need to be met.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iran would continue to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the United States accepted “all” of its conditions.
On the other hand, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said Iran had informed Washington that it would not impose fees on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and would allow oil to flow through the waterway at maximum capacity. However, he stressed that the United States did not trust these assurances until they were tested in practice.
Vance added that Washington was working on a plan to ensure the safe passage of vessels, including an Iranian commitment not to open fire. He said the main problem was mines that Iran had laid in the strait at the beginning of the war, adding that the United States was working to establish a safe navigation system.
Oman, for its part, said negotiations on navigation arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz were taking place in a “positive and constructive” atmosphere, and called for avoiding any actions that could affect the talks and the progress achieved so far.
Reuters
