DUBAI/HELSINGBORG, Sweden — The United States has seen some progress towards a deal with Iran but more work is required, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday, while Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said the two sides' differences were deep and significant. Intensifying diplomacy to end the conflict, Pakistan's military chief arrived in Tehran, Friday to press on with mediation efforts, and Iranian media reported that Iran's foreign minister and Pakistan's interior minister had met there. Qatar also sent a negotiating team to the Iranian capital to try to resolve the sides' main differences, six weeks into a fragile ceasefire. While some gaps have been narrowed, there are still sticking points over Iran's enriched uranium and control over the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure since the start of the war has triggered a global energy crisis. "There's been some progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't diminish it," Rubio told reporters after a meeting of NATO ministers in Helsingborg in Sweden. "There's more work to be done. We're not there yet. I hope we get there." Rubio reiterated comments made Thursday that Iran's plans for a tolling system for the strait through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows were "unacceptable." "We're dealing with a very difficult group of people, and if it doesn't change, then the president's been clear he has other options," Rubio said. He also said the U.S. had not asked the NATO military alliance for help on the Strait of Hormuz but that there needed to be a Plan B if Iran refuses to reopen the waterway. Two days after presenting the Iranians with the latest U.S. message in negotiations, Pakistani Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi held another round of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Pakistan's army later announced Field Marshal Asim Munir's arrival in Tehran but gave no further details. The Qatari team, which is working in coordination with the United States, also arrived in Iran, Friday, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. Despite the intensifying mediation efforts, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, was quoted by IRNA news agency as saying diplomacy takes time and suggesting that the sides had not reached a point where an agreement was close. He said nuclear issues were not being discussed and that a conclusion would not be reached if the U.S. sought to delve into details about highly enriched uranium in Iran. The U.S. and Israel say their war aims are to curb Iran's support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missile capabilities and make it easier for Iranians to topple their rulers. But Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, and its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias. Uncertainty fuels oil-price gain After U.S.-Israeli airstrikes began on February 28, Iran fired at Gulf States that host U.S. military bases and the war reignited conflict between Israel and militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Thousands have been killed in Iran and Lebanon. The war has also created turmoil in the global economy, with the surge in oil prices stoking fears of rampant inflation. Major stock indexes rose Friday, with the blue-chip Dow hitting a record high, but Treasury yields dipped as investors weighed the likelihood of a near-term deal to end the war. The U.S. dollar was near its highest level in six weeks Friday amid the uncertainty over peace talks, while oil prices climbed. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would eventually recover Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium — which Washington believes is destined for a nuclear weapon, though Tehran says it is intended purely for peaceful purposes. Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters before Trump's comments that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a directive that the uranium should not be sent abroad. Trump faces domestic pressure ahead of November midterm elections, with Americans angry over the surge in fuel prices and his approval rating near its lowest level since he returned to the White House last year. Tehran submitted its latest offer to the U.S. earlier this week. Iran's descriptions suggest it largely repeats terms Trump previously rejected, including demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damage, lifting of sanctions, release of frozen assets and the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
DUBAI/HELSINGBORG, Sweden — The United States has seen some progress towards a deal with Iran but more work is required, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday, while Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said the two sides' differences were deep and significant. Intensifying dip…
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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.