US Vice President JD Vance said the United States will not hold talks with Iran unless it stops attacking ships, according to comments reported by investingLive. The condition effectively ties any diplomatic off-ramp to a halt in maritime attacks, leaving the two countries locked in a standoff where neither side has an obvious incentive to move first.

The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict in which Iran appears to be seeking leverage by driving up the price of oil through disrupting the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is one of the world's most important chokepoints for crude, with a large share of globally traded oil and liquefied natural gas passing through it, which is why even partial disruption there tends to ripple into prices worldwide. The United States, for its part, is pursuing a strategy of squeezing Iran economically and imposing severe costs on the country.

Caught in the middle are the people of the region and the global buyers of crude oil. At the moment, neither side is winning, and no near-term breakthrough appears to be in sight. One idea floated this week was that President Donald Trump would declare victory and leave others to navigate ships through the Strait or to negotiate with Iran. On the other side, Iran has struggled to slow shipping and has instead turned to attacking land-based targets in Kuwait.

There are signs that the market is losing patience — and supply — with crude prices up more than $10 over the past week and threatening the July high of $93.50. That level is likely to serve as a pivot point in the short term. For buyers, the stakes of the standoff extend beyond pump prices: sustained disruption around the Strait raises shipping insurance costs and rerouting questions for importers in Asia and Europe that depend on Gulf crude, factors that have historically amplified price pressure during past tanker conflicts in the region. What to watch next is whether Iran scales back attacks on shipping in response to the US precondition — or whether further escalation toward land-based targets like Kuwait hardens positions on both sides and keeps the diplomatic door shut.

Source: investingLive