Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said his country will allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with “international norms and international law” once the United States ends its “aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.
Khatibzadeh told the BBC on Thursday that Iran had closed the strait after U.S. ally Israel committed an “intentional grave violation of the ceasefire.”
Oil rose again to above $97 a barrel and Asian stocks were trading lower Thursday on skepticism over the ceasefire. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 2.9% to $97.46 per barrel. It had fallen briefly to below $92 following the temporary ceasefire announcement.
Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed only four vessels with their Automatic Identification System trackers on passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day of the ceasefire. (AP)