Iran's foreign minister says Tehran is not in direct talks with the U.S. over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, even as senior American officials call a deal imminent. Iran-backed Houthi rebels separately claimed a drone strike on a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, which firefighters extinguished without injuries. Brent crude closed at $83.55 a barrel amid the standoff, still down more than 7% for the week.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran is not currently engaging in direct talks with the U.S. to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting U.S. officials' assertions that a deal is close. According to Mehr news agency, he added that "messages are being exchanged through intermediaries." Araghchi also said an agreement with Oman on a transit route through the strait would not by itself reopen it, since Washington must still meet Tehran's separate conditions conveyed through intermediaries.
Iran's foreign minister said a day earlier that Tehran and Oman, which border the waterway, were close to an agreement on navigation, specifically the determination of a transit route. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that an agreement to open Hormuz with freedom of movement could come as soon as Wednesday; President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also indicated that an agreement was imminent.
Iran's conditions for reopening Hormuz
On Saturday, Iran laid out sweeping demands to the U.S. for reopening the strait, according to media reports. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, said reopening would require Washington to lift its naval blockade and sanctions, withdraw military forces from the region, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets; the council also called for an end to U.S. attacks on Iran's regional allies. CNBC has not independently verified the demands.
Under the interim deal Iran and the U.S. signed in June, a sanctions schedule and compensation plan would be part of a final agreement, and the 60-day period set to negotiate it ends in just over a week. A draft plan Iranian state media published Thursday, now under parliamentary review, would ban U.S. and Israeli ships from transiting the strait and bar other nations that harmed Iran until they pay compensation.
Oil markets react to shipping disruption
Crude oil prices rose Friday as investors waited for an agreement. Ship traffic through the strait fell 33% on Friday compared with the day before, with most vessels rerouting through Iranian waters, according to trade intelligence firm Kpler. Brent crude futures gained more than 1% to close at $83.55 a barrel on Friday.
Houthi drone strike hits Aramco refinery in Jazan
Firefighters extinguished a blaze at Saudi Aramco's refinery in Jazan early Sunday, Saudi Arabia's government said, after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen reportedly claimed responsibility for a drone strike on the facility. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said the competent authorities were completing procedures to deal with the incident and that no one was injured, without stating what caused the fire.
Iranian state-backed news agency Mehr reported that Yemen's Armed Forces described the strike as precise and carried out in response to Saudi drone violations of Yemeni airspace; CNBC has not independently verified the claim. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on the Aramco facility since the war began.
Source: CNBC
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