Brent crude climbed to $87.82 a barrel and WTI rose above $82 as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz persisted. Follow along for latest updates on the war in West Asia.
US-Iran War Live Updates: US President Donald Trump has said the US Navy has “100%” control of the Strait of Hormuz and has cleared the strategic waterway of mines, even as Tehran insisted it would not reopen the strait until Washington ends its blockade of Iranian ports.
“We have a blockade that’s been infallible. It’s a steel wall. And we let people in that we want to let in,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding: “We control the Strait of Hormuz 100%.”
The closure of the strait, which normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies, has emerged as the war’s most lasting consequence.
Iran has demanded that the US lift its naval blockade and economic sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets and compensate Tehran for months of war damage.
Trump countered with his own demand that Iran pay for deaths and damage linked to decades of conflicts, attacks and protests. “If there’s damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages,” he said, in a fresh escalation that could complicate efforts to revive a preliminary peace agreement that broke down after being signed in June.
Meanwhile, Iran said it had no reason to believe that the newly signed security pact between Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia was directed against Tehran.
Elsewhere, a US State Department official also accused Hezbollah of attempting to sabotage talks between Lebanon and Israel, although Washington said it remained optimistic about their trajectory.
Follow along for the latest updates.