DUBAI, JUL 13 (AP): The United States and Iran each asserted Monday they controlled the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks across the Middle East, further threatening any diplomacy to end the war.
The latest exchange was sparked by an Iranian attack on a container ship on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has asserted control over the critical waterway for international oil and gas since the United States and Israel started the war on Feb. 28.
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with an interim peace deal reached last month. The US and others dispute that, citing international law on freedom of navigation, and the American military has tried to establish an alternative route outside of Iranian control.
Calling into Fox News on Monday, US President Donald Trump said, “we’re taking over the Strait.” Trump also said that “everything was agreed to” in an 11-hour meeting Sunday, but that Iranian negotiators had called back later and suggested changes. He did not elaborate.
Iran and the US are nearly halfway through the 60-day period in which they were supposed to negotiate a permanent end to the war and an agreement on Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Instead, a series of attacks over the strait have raised fears of a return to all-out war and further disruption to the global economy.
Oil prices jumped nearly 5% on Monday before falling back. US benchmark crude, which had risen to nearly $120 a barrel at the height of the war, was trading at around $72.92. Markets were mixed.
