Two oil tankers reversed course as they approached the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, just hours after the US naval blockade against Iranian ports took effect, according to maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic. Brent crude for June delivery closed up 4.4% at $99.36 per barrel, while US benchmark WTI rose 2.6% to $99.08, according to Bloomberg. The Malawi-flagged tanker Rich Starry, 188 meters in length, turned around within minutes of approaching the strait, MarineTraffic reported. The vessel had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, bound for China. The second, identified as the Botswana-flagged Ostria at 175 meters, also changed course after nearing the area. The blockade took effect at 2:00 p.m. GMT on Monday. US Central Command (CENTCOM) specified that it applies impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas but will not impede navigation for ships transiting to non-Iranian ports. Thirty minutes after the blockade was activated, Trump posted an additional threat on Truth Social: Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is fast and brutal. Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that any military vessel approaching the strait would be considered a ceasefire violation and would be met with a severe response. Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that the so-called blockade would soon make Americans nostalgic for $4–$5 gas. The secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, called both the US blockade and Iran's toll collection illegal. He said only 11 ships had transited the strait in the previous two days, a fraction of the roughly 130 daily crossings before the war. More than 1,300 vessels remain stranded near the strait and some 20,000 mariners are trapped, according to the organization. Analytics firm Kpler noted that LNG tanker movements remain at a standstill, with operators awaiting clearer security guarantees before re-entering the route. US gasoline prices already average $4.12 per gallon, up more than $1.20 since the start of the war, according to AAA. Trump acknowledged that oil and gasoline prices could remain elevated through November's midterm elections, CNN reported. OPEC lowered its world oil demand forecast for the second quarter by 500,000 barrels per day, citing the impact of the Middle East war.
Two oil tankers reversed course as they approached the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, just hours after the US naval blockade against Iranian ports took effect, according to maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic. Brent crude for June delivery closed up 4.4% at $99.36 per barrel, w…
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International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.