Oil prices have risen again due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, namely due to new attacks by Iran and little progress in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
Reuters writes about this.
Brent crude futures rose 81 cents to $96.81 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 91 cents to $94.67 a barrel.
According to the source, as of May 29, crude oil inventories had decreased by 6.8 million barrels per week.
Iran said it had struck a US base in Kuwait and attacked Bahrain. At the same time, the US claims that all Iranian missiles and drones were either intercepted or did not reach their targets. Also, late on the evening of June 2, Washington hit an oil tanker heading towards the Iranian island of Kharq with a missile.
War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries where US bases are located, and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels per day.
On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.
On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran reported that it was blocking the Strait of Hormuz again.
Iran says it regains control of Strait of Hormuz due to US naval blockade
due to the US naval blockade. On the same day, Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.
On April 21, Trump tweeted that he had extended the ceasefire with Iran until the Iranians submitted their proposals and concluded discussions. Despite this, on May 8, Iran accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by attacking two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and striking civilian areas.
Tehran later submitted new proposals to Washington to end the war, but they included points that Trump had previously rejected. This was followed by reports that the US and Israel were preparing to resume strikes on Iran, but Trump said he was putting the idea on hold. Iran responded by threatening to expand the war beyond the Middle East if the US resumed attacks.
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