Hormuz uncertainty pushes oil prices higher as Iran sets conditions for reopening.

Oil prices rose on Monday as uncertainty persisted over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran insisting that the United States must meet several conditions, even as Tehran and Oman moved closer to an agreement on new shipping lanes.

Brent crude futures gained 84 cents, or 1%, to $84.39 a barrel by 0424 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 60 cents, or 0.75%, to $78.77 a barrel.
Both benchmarks had declined by more than 7% last week amid hopes that Iran and Oman were nearing an agreement that would lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil was transported before the war.
Although Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman was in its “final stages”, Tehran reiterated that the waterway would only reopen after Washington met additional conditions, including compensation for widespread U.S. attacks on Iran.
“Crude oil prices remain caught between opposing forces, as markets assess the possibility of a breakthrough over the Strait of Hormuz against Iran’s conditions for reopening the strategic waterway,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of New Delhi-based research firm SS WealthStreet.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that Iran and the United States were not engaged in talks and that Tehran would not initiate negotiations as long as Washington continued to breach an interim agreement signed in June.
Meanwhile, in another threat to oil supplies, Iran-aligned Houthis said they had struck Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery on Sunday.
The attack occurred two days after Saudi Arabia signed a defence pact with Sunni Muslim allies Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Shi’ite Iran.
Separately, the United Arab Emirates’ ADNOC said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict.