Vance says US in strong position to secure Iran deal

The firm said it observed a surge in "dark" ship-to-ship oil transfers across the Middle East over the weekend.

"This weekend saw a lot of dark ship-to-ship transfers of oil in the Middle East. It's not Iranian oil. Instead, this is oil coming from Iran's Arab neighbors," TankerTrackers said on X.

The company suggested the covert transfers were helping ease pressure on global oil markets despite continuing tensions in the region.

"Yet another reason why oil isn't $200/barrel right now," it added.

Dark ship-to-ship transfers and tankers operating with tracking systems switched off have long been associated with Iranian oil exports and sanctions evasion.

Shipping across the Persian Gulf has been heavily disrupted since early March, when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on the country and subsequent attacks on its regional allies.

The disruption deepened after Washington launched a naval blockade of Iranian ports in mid-April, prompting traders and regional producers to seek alternative ways to move crude to global markets.

The US dollar held near a two-month high on Tuesday as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and growing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike boosted demand for safe-haven assets.

The greenback strengthened against most major currencies despite a pause in direct attacks between Iran and Israel after an appeal from President Donald Trump.

The euro traded at $1.1528 and sterling at $1.3335, both down around 0.05% in Asian trading after hitting two-month lows in the previous session.

Iranian officials and media outlets say Tehran's missile strike on Israel in response to attacks on Beirut has established a new red line: future attacks on Hezbollah and Lebanon could trigger direct Iranian retaliation.

The debate emerged after Iran launched missiles at Israel following Israeli strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, at a time when negotiations between Tehran and Washington were widely described as nearing an agreement.

Speaking to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)-linked Tasnim News Agency, an unnamed military source dismissed Washington's lack of public endorsement for Israeli attacks as a "purely propagandistic and deceptive act."

"If the Israelis and Americans believe they can, through 'controlled escalation,' make Iran and the Resistance Front predictable or limit the nature of Iran's response, they are making a foolish mistake," he said.

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Israel's ambassador to the United States said Iran is wrongly attempting to tie developments in Lebanon to ongoing negotiations with Washington, insisting the two issues are unrelated.

"The main issue here is that Iran is trying to connect the negotiations with the United States with Lebanon, and they have nothing to do with Lebanon," Yechiel Leiter told Fox News.

"When we hit Hezbollah, that has nothing to do with Iran, and they have to stay out of it," he said.

Leiter argued that Lebanon's future depends on reducing Iranian influence, saying the country "will not have a future if it remains linked to Iran."

Global stocks edged lower on Monday while oil prices gave up part of their earlier gains after Iran and Israel said they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from US President Donald Trump.

Markets remained cautious as uncertainty persisted over the durability of the ceasefire. Tehran warned it would resume strikes if Israel continued attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In energy markets, US crude settled up 0.84%, or 76 cents, at $91.30 a barrel after earlier trading above $95. Brent crude ended the session up 1.25%, or $1.16, at $94.25 a barrel after briefly rising above $98.