Iran has restarted talks with Oman on a temporary corridor through the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. economic pressure on Tehran continues. Oil prices fell for a second straight day as traders brushed off Washington's latest sanctions threat, even as a tanker strike near the strait underscored how risky the waterway remains.
Iran said on Tuesday it had restarted talks with Oman to manage the Strait of Hormuz, a route for crude oil shipments, as the country faces heightened economic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump in the wider conflict.
Oman talks target a temporary corridor
The two countries said on Tuesday that they discussed a joint temporary navigational corridor through the strait and agreed to clear it of mines. Iran and Oman have held on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling traffic through the waterway, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February. Most shipping has been shut down since then.
Trump said all mines in the strait had been cleared, repeating comments he has made before. Yet active hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have largely subsided, and diplomatic efforts toward a peace deal have stalled, leaving passage through the waterway perilous. An oil tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile and disabled about 9 nautical miles (17 km) northeast of Oman's Ash Shishah on Tuesday, near the strait's entrance, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
Sanctions pressure meets a muted oil reaction
Oil prices fell for a second day as traders brushed off the U.S. sanctions threat. Washington said earlier this week it would punish countries that continue to do business with Iran, though it said it would not impose penalties immediately. According to Reuters: "gross lawlessness" is how Iran denounced the U.S. effort to isolate its economy, expressing confidence that many countries would not join the pressure campaign.
Washington signals lower near-term risk
The U.S. is also sending personnel back to some Middle East diplomatic missions that were evacuated or downsized amid the tensions, a move that suggests Washington sees a lower risk of the conflict escalating in the near term, though some embassies will initially operate below full capacity.
Public approval of the war has fallen to its lowest level since the conflict's early days, and Trump's own popularity is likewise at a record low ahead of November's congressional elections, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Thousands of people have died in the conflict, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, and the exact state of Iran's nuclear program remains unknown.
Source: Investing.com (Reuters)
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