Wednesday 12 August 2026 6:24 am
| Updated:
Wednesday 12 August 2026 8:44 am
Oil prices have spiked on fresh tensions over the Strait of Hormuz
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Oil prices broke above $89 per barrel on Wednesday morning, notching the sixth consecutive sessions amid mixed signals around a potential deal between the US and Iran.
The regime in Iran has said that the United States must end the war before they loosen their grip on the Strait of Hormuz, despite claims from Donald Trump that the US military was in complete control of the channel.
Mohsen Rezaee, the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on social media that the “message is clear” that the narrow waterway will stay shut until the US agrees to terms and pulls back from the conflict.
”The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the US ends the war and blockade, releases Iran’s frozen assets, and agrees to a region-wide ceasefire, including in Lebanon and Gaza,” he said.
It followed Trump dismissing Iran’s six conditions for reopening the strait, which included “payment in full” for damage inflicted on Iran throughout the war.
“It is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran,” Trump said, adding: “I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations.”
The President also said the US was only “semi-negotiating” with Iran.
But in some relief to market’s hope for peace, the defence minister of Pakistan, which has been acting as an intermediary in talks, has said things were “shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement”.
“The signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement,” they added.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest market developments and analysis.
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As it happened: Stocks rise as oil lower; Iran threatens ‘forceful response’ over Strait of Hormuz
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