Oil back to pre-war levels as Hormuz traffic rebounds, US reassures Gulf allies

Oil tankers moored off the coast in Ulsan, South Korea, on June 25. Despite the recovery in traffic, Iran signalled it would continue to assert control in the Strait of Hormuz.

DUBAI – Oil prices fell to pre-war levels on June 25 as the United States said flows through the Strait of Hormuz were nearing normal and its top diplomat completed a Gulf tour aimed at shoring up support for a preliminary Iran deal.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on June 24 shipments through the strait were approaching levels seen before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb 28, with at least 20 million barrels exiting the strait in the previous 24 hours.

Despite the recovery in traffic, Iran signalled it would continue to assert control.

Its Revolutionary Guards on June 25 warned vessels to stick to routes through the strait designated by Tehran, rejecting newly announced shipping routes not coordinated with Iran as unacceptable and dangerous.

The warning came after Oman announced temporary shipping lanes through the strait in coordination with the United Nations’ shipping agency.

Data from the UN’s International Maritime Organization showed that 57 ships carrying about 1,100 seafarers have transited the strait since June 23 under the evacuation plan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure Gulf allies wary of Washington’s preliminary accord with Tehran.

Speaking in Bahrain – home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet – he said the US was pursuing an enduring peace that would not come at the expense of regional security or prosperity.

He said Tehran would not be allowed to impose fees on vessels using the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

“The reality of it is that no country on earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways, and that will never be an acceptable condition of any deal,” Rubio told Gulf Arab foreign ministers.

Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr bin Hamad al-Busaid, told the meeting that future shipping arrangements should not involve tolls.

The diplomatic push comes as US President Donald Trump faces growing criticism at home over the Iran war.

In a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans on June 24, Trump clashed with Senator Bill Cassidy shortly before his administration asked Congress for tens of billions of dollars to pay for the conflict.

Several Republicans who attended said Trump engaged in a shouting match with Cassidy, who said the administration needed to explain the framework deal Trump signed last week that gives Iran fin