Tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz as Washington awaits Iran's response
An LNG tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the recent Iran clash, offering a psychological reprieve for energy markets as Washington waits on Tehran's reply to its peace proposal. The White House is trying to keep the ceasefire framework alive while crude prices stay cautious.
Footage of an LNG tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz delivered the first concrete normalization signal to markets since the latest US-Iran clash. The Trump administration is waiting on Tehran's reply to a peace proposal sent last week, while the White House continues to insist the war 'will be over quickly.'
Iran is hedging. President Pezeshkian said 'negotiation is not surrender,' demanding written US security guarantees before any commitment, which has reduced the process to a slow exchange of individual clauses. American officials say a response is expected within days.
Oil prices rose only modestly on the news, with traders aware that any reversal would put a fresh war premium back into crude almost immediately. Saudi Aramco's record Q1 profit, reported the same morning, underscored how elevated prices in a war environment hand windfall gains to the largest producers. The next leaks of diplomatic language will set the tone for crude.
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