The price of Brent crude oil continued to rise on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran is still deadlocked.
Concretely, Brent oil futures jumped about 3% to close above $105 per barrel. The price of West Texas Intermediate also climbed a similar amount, clocking in at almost $96.
Traffic of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be practically null as both Tehran and Washington are preventing ships from transiting.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has “all the time in the world” to make a deal with Iran and end the war, but Tehran is not in that same position because the blockade is strangling its finances.
In a social media publication, Trump lashed out at media publications for, in his view, conveying that he is “anxious” to end the war in Iran.
“With Iran, please be advised that I am possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position. I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn’t — The clock is ticking!” he added.
Trump went on to say that Tehran’s “Navy is lying at the bottom of the Sea, their Air Force is demolished, their Anti Aircraft and Radar Weaponry is gone, their leaders are no longer with us, the Blockade is airtight and strong and, from there, it only gets worse — Time is not on their side!”
“A Deal will only be made when it’s appropriate and good for the United States of America, our Allies and, in fact, the rest of the World,” he concluded.
However, doubts persist about who in Iran could be able to have the authority necessary to continue negotiations and potentially reach a deal.
Trump also said on Thursday that Iranian officials are “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is.”
Elsewhere, a new report claimed that some officials in Israel and the U.S. believe that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is not ruling Iran, with control being exerted by the revolutionary guard (IRGC).
The New York Times reported that Khamenei “remains sharp and involved in running the country, which is being managed like a board of directors, together with IRGC commanders.” However, he has not been seen or heard since the beginning of the war. Different reports claimed that he was severely injured in the February 28 attack in which his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed.
