Oil Holds Biggest Monthly Gain as US-Iran Talks Stall

CBS News reported Monday that crude oil steadied near a one-month high as unresolved US-Iran talks left markets anxious about the future of energy flows through the Persian Gulf.

Hormuz Uncertainty Drives the Rally

Traders have grown increasingly jittery over whether the Strait of Hormuz will remain disrupted. The waterway carries roughly one-fifth of global oil traded by sea. President Donald Trump publicly stated that any final agreement must include a full reopening of the strait. He also insisted Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium be destroyed. Those conditions have complicated ongoing negotiations. A source familiar with the discussions told CBS News that Trump made meaningful revisions to the draft US-Iran memorandum of understanding over the weekend. The edits focused specifically on Hormuz access and uranium disposal terms.

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A Blockade, a Missile and a Merchant Ship

Tensions escalated further after US forces disabled a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The ship, flying a Gambian flag, was allegedly attempting to breach the American naval blockade around Iranian ports. US Central Command said a Hellfire missile was fired into the vessel’s engine. The incident underscored how the standoff has moved well beyond diplomatic back-channels into active military enforcement.

Background: How the Conflict Reached This Point

Hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah resumed in early March. That reopening of the Lebanon front followed US-Israeli strikes on Iranian territory. Since then, 26 Israelis have been killed in Lebanon fighting, including a soldier confirmed dead Monday. Iran’s foreign ministry accused Washington of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, citing fresh strikes near a southern Iranian port. Tehran’s spokesman also said no nuclear-program discussions with the US are currently taking place, a stance that conflicts directly with Washington’s stated war objective of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

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Markets Watch for Trump’s Next Move

Trump had told allies Friday he would issue a “final determination” on any deal after a Situation Room review. As of Sunday afternoon no decision had been announced. Lebanon’s president condemned renewed Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs as “vicious aggression,” widening the regional dimension of the conflict. Until a credible diplomatic framework emerges, analysts expect crude to remain sensitive to every headline out of the region.

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