Brent crude jumped as much as 4.25% on Monday after President Trump countered Iran's demand for war reparations with a compensation claim of his own, an escalation traders say pushes a Strait of Hormuz reopening further out of reach. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the strait blockade stays in place until Washington meets a broader list of conditions, while Wall Street's main indexes barely moved.
Oil markets extended Monday's rally, with Brent crude rising as much as 4.25% intraday after Trump countered Iran's demand for war reparations with a compensation claim of his own. Traders read the exchange as pushing a near-term deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz further out of reach, on top of gains already building from days of conflicting signals over the state of the talks.
A reparations demand escalates the standoff
The dispute began after Iran repeated that reopening the strait depended on Washington compensating Tehran for damage from more than five months of US and Israeli strikes on its territory. Trump answered on Truth Social, saying he was likewise demanding compensation from Iran for people he said had been killed or gravely wounded in roadside bombings and other conflicts linked to Tehran over more than two decades, including payments to families of protesters killed by Iranian authorities.
He went further in a follow-up post, saying Iran should also be held responsible for damages and deaths in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Gaza, and said he had instructed his negotiating team to insert the demand into all future talks.
Iran holds the line on the blockade
Iran's Revolutionary Guards separately repeated over the weekend that the Hormuz blockade will not lift until the United States meets a broader list of conditions, including an end to sanctions, a lifting of the naval blockade and a halt to military threats, on top of compensation. Iran's foreign ministry added that diplomacy alone cannot resolve the standoff, hardening Tehran's tone even as separate technical talks with Oman over shipping routes were said to be close to a framework.
Still, regional security analysts suggested the reparations demand may be more a negotiating tactic than a genuine sticking point, with Iran potentially using an unattainable ask to make its more realistic conditions, such as sanctions relief, look comparatively reasonable.
Wall Street treats it as a sector story
The broader stock market barely moved, with the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq staying close to flat while energy shares led the gains, keeping oil markets the clear focus of the move.
A further escalation in rhetoric between Washington and Tehran would be the clearest near-term catalyst to unsettle that calm.
Source: Investinglive
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