Arabic version: ارتفاع أسعار النفط مع تعمّق الشكوك بشأن اتفاق هرمز

According to Cnbc, oil prices jumped about 5% Monday as uncertainty increased over whether the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to raise ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures closed at $82.13 per barrel, while Brent crude settled at $87.72 a barrel.

President Donald Trump told Axios on Sunday that the United States was “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, after saying the prior week that talks were taking place. Trump indicated that Washington would use its naval blockade to pressure Tehran rather than launch another round of airstrikes. He canceled a planned attack on Aug. 1 to allow negotiations to proceed.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Monday that the United States must end its blockade before Tehran would agree to fully open Hormuz. Baghaei said the conditions needed to reopen the strait did not exist while the blockade remained in place. He also said Iran and Oman were holding bilateral talks on shipping routes in the waterway.

The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 intended to open Hormuz to commercial shipping, but the arrangement quickly collapsed during fighting over vessel routes. Iran attacked multiple tankers transiting Hormuz along Oman’s coast under U.S. military protection, while Tehran demanded that ships use its territorial waters. The United States responded with multiple waves of airstrikes and reinstated its naval blockade.

Prices had fallen more than 7% last week after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal allowing freedom of movement for ships could arrive soon. No agreement has been announced, however, as the positions of Tehran and Washington have hardened. U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil stocks have also dropped below 300 million barrels, their lowest level since January 1983.