US and Iran Resume Strikes as Hormuz Traffic Falls, but Oil Holds Steady

Fighting between the United States and Iran resumed overnight, and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet reported a steep decline in transits through the waterway, which carries roughly a fifth of the world's seaborne oil, with no large vessel crossing on the American-coordinated route while broadcasting its position since Tuesday. Despite that drop, Brent crude stood at $76.58 a barrel early Friday, close to Thursday's settlement, an unusual response for a supply route of that importance.

Iranian state media said military headquarters were struck in Bushehr province and the city of Konarak, while the United States denied carrying out those particular attacks, Al Jazeera reported. Iran separately claimed one of its naval sites had been hit by an unnamed adversary. Israeli media, citing an American source speaking to CNN, reported that Washington was prepared for further bombing but was holding back to let diplomacy proceed.

By Friday the exchanges had stopped, and mediators moved to restart negotiations. CNN reported a lull in the fighting, with a US official describing quiet diplomacy under way and regional sources saying Qatar and Pakistan were working to return the two governments to the table. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had spoken by telephone with his Saudi, Turkish and Omani counterparts and with Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has acted as a principal mediator through the war.

The gap between a visible disruption to shipping and a muted oil price remains the most important market fact of the day. Traders appear to be pricing a managed, on-and-off confrontation rather than a sustained closure of the strait, and returning barrels from other producers have loosened the physical market. The pause has not settled the underlying dispute. Both sides read the fifth point of their memorandum of understanding differently: it commits Iran to arrange safe passage for commercial vessels and to work with Oman on the strait's future administration, and Tehran treats its position in the waterway as a wartime gain it intends to keep, while Washington wants prewar shipping volumes restored. Where credible accounts still diverge is on who struck what overnight, with Tehran and Washington describing the same hours very differently.