Iran wants to negotiate and strike a deal to end the Middle East “skirmish”, Donald Trump has said, amid warnings the war could threaten British jobs. The US president also insisted the conflict, currently the subject of a fragile ceasefire, was “going very smoothly” despite the stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused a global economic shock, a spike in petrol prices at home and abroad and mounting discontent stateside. In light of “great progress” being made in peace talks, the president paused a short-lived naval mission to reopen the strait to shipping, with around 1,500 vessels stranded. Iran’s effective closure of the vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally flows, has driven energy prices up across the world. The White House has been pressing China to use its relationship with Iran to reopen the strait, ahead of a high-profile visit to Beijing by Mr Trump next week. However, a blockade of Iran’s ports remains in force, which the US military said had seen more than 50 cargo ships turned back. It remains a potential flashpoint, highlighted after a US fighter jet shot and disabled the rudder of a tanker as it sought to break through, according to US central command. Speaking at a military mother’s day event at the White House, Mr Trump sought to play down the conflict. He said: “I call it a skirmish, because that’s what it is. “It’s a skirmish, and we’re doing unbelievably well.” He added: “We’re doing very well in Iran. “It’s going very smoothly, and we’ll see what happens. “They want to make a deal, they want to negotiate, and I think that military mothers would want to hear that.” Mr Trump went on: “The blockade is unbelievable. The navy has been incredible, the job they did. “It’s like a wall of steel, nobody goes through. “In particular the Iranians, they’re not getting anything through one way or the other, so they’re out of business. “We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing, and if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter.” Writing on his Truth Social platform earlier in the day, Mr Trump said: “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts.” Read More Meanwhile, the UK Government has warned over the economic fallout of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Sky News: “The latest unemployment figures for February showed a fall, interest rates were expected to come down, the markets were pricing in a couple of cuts during the course of the year. “The truth is, with the effect of the Iran war, we can’t count on any of that at the moment. “There is likely to be an effect on prices, which feeds through from energy costs, and there may well be labour market implications.” Asked if this meant job losses, Mr McFadden replied: “Yes. It could happen.”
Iran wants to negotiate and strike a deal to end the Middle East “skirmish”, Donald Trump has said, amid warnings the war could threaten British jobs. The US president also insisted the conflict, currently the subject of a fragile ceasefire, was “going very smoothly” despite the …
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.