The US military escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying about 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, a wartime record, as Washington and Tehran traded their heaviest blows in weeks, CNN reported, citing two US officials familiar with the operation.
The United States carried out a fresh wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on Tuesday, while Iran retaliated with missile attacks targeting US-linked positions and activating air defences across several Gulf states.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday as renewed military tensions between the United States and Iran revived concerns that the conflict could continue to disrupt crude supplies from the Middle East.
The United States and Iran have entered a new phase of their confrontation after US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against US military bases in Jordan, marking the first direct escalation between the two sides in more than a month.
Diplomatic efforts to defuse the Gulf crisis are expected to gain fresh momentum on Monday as the United States and Iran prepare to resume negotiations, following US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend a planned military strike against Iran.
Qatar stepped up regional mediation efforts on Thursday, with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pressing Iran to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran insisted that reopening the strategic waterway would depend on conditions being met by the United States.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is due to visit Tehran on Thursday in a fresh diplomatic push to ease tensions between the US and Iran and help restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has formally submitted a proposed civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, setting in motion a 90-day review period for a pact that would give US companies a major role in developing the kingdom’s nuclear power programme.
Oil prices remained near their highest level in more than three weeks on Friday as the deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz and a sharp escalation in US economic pressure on Iran raised fresh concerns about global energy supplies.
US President Donald Trump has announced that he is cancelling planned military strikes against Iran, saying significant progress in negotiations has created an opportunity for a broader agreement aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East.
