Before the ink even dries on the United States-Iran memorandum of understanding, a dispute is emerging that could unravel negotiations to restore peace in the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping has been at a near-standstill in the strait, a conduit for one-quarter of the world's seaborne oil, since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against the Islamic Republic on February 28. The threat of Iranian attacks sent insurance costs soaring and prompted many operators to avoid the route altogether, while vessels calling at Iranian ports faced additional complications from the U.S.-led naval blockade. The 14-point agreement, which U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday in Versailles during his visit to France for a G7 summit, commits the two countries to negotiating a more comprehensive deal within the next 60 days. When announcing the MOU on Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social he was "authoriz[ing] the toll free opening of the waterway." Iran is to immediately begin the process of reopening the strait for the safe passage of commercial vessels, including demining operations and the removal of "technical and military obstacles, according to the MOU. Iran also must "make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa." Toll-Free? While Washington and Tehran appear to agree on toll-free transit during the initial 60-day period, they differ on whether Iran will be permitted to continue collecting fees after that two-month window expires. Since mid-March, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been running a "tollbooth" under which foreign-flagged vessels undergo a strict vetting process with the IRGC before being allowed to transit through Iranian waters after paying a fee. Trump stressed the strait will be "permanently toll-free." Vice President JD Vance told CNBC in a Monday interview that it would remain "toll-free for the long term." Iran has insisted it intends to collect maritime service fees, not tolls. The charges would offset the cost of services provided, including navigational assistance, vessel insurance, and environmental protection measures jointly administered by Iran and Oman, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the semi-official Tasnim news agency late last month. Permanent Deal in Jeopardy Iran’s insistence on collecting services fees in the waterway likely would undermine any chance of a permanent peace deal with the U.S., according to Charlie Brown, a senior adviser at the nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran. Tehran also may be using the issue of tolls as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from the U.S. in the upcoming talks, Brown told Newsweek. “The Iranians consider themselves experts at dragging out negotiations and continuously moving the goal posts, and seeking concessions,” Brown said. Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Iranian Foreign Ministry via email for comment. The fees could also further strain relations with at least five of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states that were targeted by Iranian retaliatory missile and drone strikes on U.S. military, economic and energy infrastructure linked to their hosting of American forces. "The Omanis may actually benefit by joining Iran in collecting a toll. The Saudis and Emiratis have options to go around the strait, but Kuwaitis, Qataris, and Bahrainis do not," Steven Cook, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an analysis on Wednesday. "They will be forced to comply with Iranian demands or experience economic dislocation. The conflict will likely lead to additional Gulf hedging in the form of non-aggression pacts with Iran." Approximately 550 merchant ships—including 160 tankers, 200 bulk carriers, and 60 containerships—remained in the Persian Gulf Thursday, according to Lloyd's List.
Before the ink even dries on the United States-Iran memorandum of understanding, a dispute is emerging that could unravel negotiations to restore peace in the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping has been at a near-standstill in the strait, a conduit for one-quarter of the world's seaborne…
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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.