LONDON
\nOil prices hovered around $100 a barrel Monday and stocks fluctuated as the Iran war moved into a third week with both sides showing no sign of backing down and diplomats trying to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Crude shot up in the opening minutes after the US president said at the weekend that forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran\u2019s oil exports.
\nHe also warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if Tehran interferes with transit through Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US-Israel operations began on February 28. Iran\u2019s Fars news agency reported soon after that no oil infrastructure was damaged in strikes. Trump urged other countries to send warships to keep the waterway open but offered no specifics or commitments from the US side, saying he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part.
\nHe later wrote Saturday in a Truth Social post: \u201cThe Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help \u2014 A LOT!\u201dThis should have always been a team effort, and now it will be.\u201d However, Japan said Monday it was \u201cnot at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation\u201d, while Australia announced it would not send any navy ships to the region.
\nTrump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the fighting, but that he was not prepared to make one on current terms, without giving further details. Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was not interested in talks with Washington. \u201cWe don\u2019t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us,\u201d he told CBS\u2019s \u201cFace The Nation\u201d in an interview aired Sunday.
\n\u201cThere is no good experience talking with Americans,\u201d adding that \u201cwe never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation\u201d. However, he did say he was ready to speak to countries \u201cwho want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels\u201d.
\n\u201cI cannot mention any country in particular, but we have been approached by a number of countries\u201d seeking such safe passage, he added. Meanwhile, traders hoping for an early end to the conflict were left disappointed after Trump\u2019s top economics adviser Kevin Hassett said the Pentagon estimates it could take up to six weeks, though the operation was ahead of schedule. \u2014 DNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel Monday and stocks fluctuated as the Iran war moved into a third week with both sides showing no sign of backing down and diplomats trying to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Crude shot up in the opening minutes after the US […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-537066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n