Shipping through Strait of Hormuz halts again

Oil prices jumped sharply on Sunday after Iran-US talks ended without agreement and President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade targeting the Strait of Hormuz from Monday evening local time.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 8.56 percent to $104.84 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 8.61 percent to $103.38.

The spike reflects mounting market concerns over supply disruptions linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil shipments normally pass.

US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is “holding well” as Washington prepares to implement a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports.

Trump signaled little urgency about returning to negotiations with Tehran.

“I don’t care” if Iran comes back to the negotiating table, he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”

He described Iran as being “in very bad shape” and “desperate,” claiming its military had been “destroyed.”

The United States had been “very nice” with Iran, he asserted, because it did not target "too many bridges."

US President Donald Trump accused Pope Leo of being weak on Iran and foreign policy in a lengthy post criticizing the pontiff’s views and recent comments about the Trump administration.

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote, arguing that the pope’s positions on global issues were misguided.

Trump also called the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” while criticizing him for speaking about “fear” of the Trump administration.

The US president said the pope should “focus on being a great pope, not a politician,” claiming the Catholic Church was being harmed by what he described as political interventions.

For the first time in seven years, an Iranian VLCC supertanker delivered two million barrels of crude oil to India following a sanctions waiver issued by the US Treasury, according to TankerTrackers.

The vessel, FELICITY, carried the cargo to India for Reliance Industries, whose refinery is based in Sikka.

Additional cargoes totaling a few million barrels are expected to arrive in the coming week, the tracking service said.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said an agreement with the United States remains possible if Washington changes its approach toward Tehran.

“If the American government abandons its totalitarianism and respects the rights of the Iranian nation, ways to reach an agreement will certainly be found,” Pezeshkian wrote on X.

His remarks come after marathon negotiations between Washington and Tehran ended without a deal, despite raising hopes that the talks could produce a framework for de-escalation.