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VOA VIEW -- Is the opinion of "Voice of Americans", which is a private entity not affiliated in any way with the United States government or any of its agencies. The opinions expressed here, in whatever medium or format, are not necessarily the opinions of the ownership or advertisers of this web site - 0415.

      No deal will be made unless Trump gives in to Iran. Oil prices jumped about 5% as doubt grew that the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal to increase ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

     The international benchmark, also settled around 5% higher at $87.72 a barrel.

President Donald Trump told Axios that the U.S. is “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, after he insisted last week that Washington and Tehran were in fact holding talks. Trump indicated that he would rely on the U.S. naval blockade to pressure Tehran rather than another wave of airstrikes.

     “We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” the president told Axios. Trump canceled a planned attack against the Islamic Republic on Aug. 1 to allow for negotiations. Oil stocks in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve have fallen below 300 million barrels, the lowest level since January 1983, as the conflict drags on.

     Oil prices sold off more than 7% after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that a deal to open Hormuz with freedom of movement for ships could come soon. But an agreement still has not been announced as Tehran’s and Washington’s positions have hardened.  Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said Monday that the U.S. must lift its blockade before Tehran would agree to fully open Hormuz.

     “As long as the U.S. naval blockade continues, the necessary conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz do not exist,” Baghaei said, according to the state news agency Tasnim. Iran and Oman are holding bilateral negotiations over shipping routes in the strait, he said.  The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 to open Hormuz to commercial ships, but the deal quickly collapsed as fighting erupted over which routes vessels could use.