Hormuz Stays Shut as Oil Climbs and No Deal Signed
The Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed on Friday, with no signed deal between the United States and Iran despite days of talk of a breakthrough. Only a handful of commercial ships passed through the strait this week, a fraction of the usual traffic, and Iran insisted its emerging arrangement with Oman was a “new security model” rather than a reopening. Oil prices climbed, with Brent ending the week firmer near $83 a barrel.
President Trump said the war “can’t go on much longer” but conceded of the strait that “we control it, but they can always shoot something”, capturing the uneasy stalemate. Iran, which denies talking directly to Washington, is reported to be weighing a law barring American, Israeli and other “hostile” vessels from the waterway altogether. The choking of the world’s most important oil chokepoint — through which a fifth of global supply normally flows — has kept crude elevated and rattled markets for weeks. With a framework near but unsigned, the outcome still hangs in the balance. Watch whether the strait reopens or Iran hardens the blockade in law.