Iran's Top Negotiator Says Hormuz Will Stay Shut Until U.S. Drops Sanctions And Blockade

Iran's top negotiator warned Tuesday the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to all shipping until the U.S. agrees to its key demands, including the lifting of an ongoing blockade of its ports and oil sanctions, hours after a previously agreed-to 60-day deadline to end the conflict and strike a peace deal expired. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's top negotiator and the country's parliament speaker, told the country's lawmakers on Tuesday that the strait will not be reopened "until the blockade is lifted, frozen assets are released, oil sanctions are removed." Ghalibaf, who is one of the country's most powerful civilian leaders, accused the U.S. of reneging on key terms agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by President Donald Trump and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in June. The British military's UK Maritime Trade Operations center flagged an attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. According to the agency, the ship was struck by an "unknown projectile" while trying to exit the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. The incident caused damage to the ship's engine room and "resulted in a crew casualty." Despite the Trump administration's insistence that the Strait of Hormuz was open for shipping and oil was transiting through the critical waterway, Tuesday's incident is the latest in a series of recent attacks. Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz was used to transit between 18-20 million barrels of crude oil a day—nearly 20% of the world's total supply. Last week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed that around 9-10 million barrels of oil are now passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Independent analysts, however, have pegged that number at around 5 million per day. The global benchmark Brent crude futures index rose to around $90.78 per barrel on Tuesday. This is the first time the $90 mark has been breached in August. In the U.S., the cost of gasoline at the pump also remains elevated due to high oil prices, with the national average on Tuesday at $4.06 per gallon, according to AAA's tracker. On Monday, Trump told Fox News that the U.S. would bomb Oman, a key ally in the Middle East, if it attempted to interfere with his naval blockade of Iran.