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.
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.
Iran appears to be losing significant control over the Strait of Hormuz as commercial vessels increasingly use an Omani shipping route despite Tehran’s warnings, while US President Donald Trump has ruled out any current or planned negotiations with Iran, adding to uncertainty over the strategic waterway and pushing oil prices higher.
President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Oman if the US ally obstructs Washington’s efforts to negotiate with Iran over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, adding a new and potentially destabilising dimension to efforts to restore shipping through the strategic waterway.
Two ADNOC vessels were attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, adding to growing tensions in the strategic waterway as the United States prepares tougher economic measures against Iran.
The Middle East conflict is widening into an increasingly complex security, shipping and environmental crisis, with an oil slick from a grounded tanker reaching Oman's coastline just as Iran signals that it may be prepared to sustain its confrontation with the United States for years.
Oil prices extended their rally on Tuesday after surging about 5% in the previous session, as fresh demands by US President Donald Trump and Iran's insistence on major concessions from Washington cast renewed doubt over efforts to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the interim agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at ending weeks of hostilities was effectively "over," following a sharp escalation in military exchanges across the Gulf that has further rattled global energy markets and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices extended their sharp decline in early Asian trading on Tuesday as markets welcomed a fourth consecutive night without military strikes between the United States and Iran, easing immediate fears of a wider disruption to Middle East energy supplies.
US President Donald Trump has threatened "major military punishment" against Iran and Yemen's Houthi movement after two Saudi oil tankers were attacked in the Red Sea, as fears of a widening threat to global shipping pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time since May.
