Headlines

Iran is betting it can outlast Washington by turning the Middle East's trade routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure into pressure points that steadily raise the cost of confrontation, according to Gulf officials and analysts. Rather than seeking a decisive military victory, Tehran is pursuing a strategy of calibrated escalation aimed at widening the conflict without triggering full-scale war. The goal, they say, is to convince the United States and its allies that containing the [Read more]

It's easy to dismiss the decision by the core members of OPEC+ to increase their crude oil production quotas for September as a meaningless gesture in the face of disruptions caused by the Iran conflict. Certainly, as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed and the threat to the nearby Bab el-Mandeb waterway remains unresolved, there is little chance of the oil-exporting group being able to ship what they have agreed to produce. The seven members of OPEC+ undertaking voluntary [Read more]

Oil prices tumbled $4 a barrel on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump held off on a fresh attack on Iran, seeking to reach a quick deal that would halt Tehran's nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures slid $4.08, or 4.64%, to $83.85 by 2352 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $80.66 a barrel, down $4.01, or 4.74%. Both contracts jumped more than 20% last month after fighting between the U.S. and Iran resumed and as attacks on several tankers [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement after earlier saying he had called off an imminent attack in hopes of quickly reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear capabilities. Trump had said late on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to "the Immediate, Complete and [Read more]

A congressman from Washington State says the U.S. Coast Guard should review and update oil spill response plans as news of a planned pipeline from Alberta to B.C. would increase oil tanker traffic in the Salish Sea.  Rep. Rick Larsen says he sent a letter to a top U.S. Coast Guard official this week seeking details about co-ordination efforts around a Canada-U.S. pollution contingency plan. Larsen says the contingency plan is important after the announcement of a new oil pipeline from [Read more]

Negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday, according to official news agency IRNA, after the U.S. said it had called of an attack on Iran to give room for diplomacy. (Reporting by Elwely Elwelly, Menna Ala El Din and Mohammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Andrew Heavens) [Read more]

A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile about 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman, leaving it not under command after the engine room was damaged, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Saturday. UKMTO said there were "no reported casualties or environmental impact" from the incident. Lima is on Oman's Musandam Peninsula at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping chokepoint linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. (Reporting by Hatem Maher; [Read more]