Iran Says 'No Progress' on Reviving US Peace Deal
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- Iran said there has been "absolutely no progress" in mediated talks to revive the June interim deal and define a timeframe for implementation, per a senior Iranian source who told Reuters the U.S. and Iran remain "at loggerheads."
- The June interim agreement declared an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts" but collapsed within weeks — Trump declared it "over" on July 7 and Iran's foreign ministry declared it "suspended" a week later.
- Iran dismissed a Pakistani-mediated report that the 60-day implementation period had been extended, saying "there is no period that began" because the U.S. violated the agreement within 48 hours and withdrew from it days later.
- Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's top security official, said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless the U.S. accepted Iran's conditions to end the war, as Trump on Monday demanded Iran pay compensation for people killed in 50 years of wars and protests.
- Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to US$89.26 a barrel on Wednesday, heading for a sixth consecutive day of gains, with prices having hit a peak of US$126 — roughly 75% above pre-war levels — since the war began in February.
- A Houthi attack on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait killed four crew members in the first deadly shipping strike by the group since the war started, while a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired Hellfire missiles to disable a Panama-flagged vessel off Pakistan that violated the naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Why it matters: With the Strait of Hormuz handling a fifth of global oil and LNG flow and still closed, every failed round of talks keeps live the energy supply shock that has pushed Brent crude roughly 75% above pre-war levels to a peak of $126 a barrel. Iran now refuses to even acknowledge the 60-day clock exists, meaning the negotiating ground for sanctions relief and nuclear limits has shrunk from weeks to nothing — while Houthi shipping attacks have resumed.
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