Iran Vows Right to Respond After Qeshm Strikes as Brent Rises Nearly 2% to $106.50
Key Facts
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said his country retained the right to self-defense after U.S. strikes on Qeshm Island, in a fresh escalation that puts the security of shipping and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz at the center of the confrontation. The Associated Press quoted a U.S. official as saying the strikes targeted Iranians who were using surface-to-air missiles against the United States in the strait. Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington must prevent fighting from resuming, describing Tehran's response as "decisive and rational." He added that Iran's armed forces remained at the highest level of defensive readiness, warning that any new U.S. "strategic mistake" would lead to a new battlefield. The remarks came as regional mediators seek to keep negotiations open alongside the military confrontation.
The Associated Press reported that Iran had presented a plan that could be implemented within two days to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the United States, if Washington met its demands. Tehran had said in an earlier proposal that the plan could be implemented within a week if the United States agreed to seven conditions, including lifting the blockade. The differing timelines show that reopening the passage and resuming talks are tied to political conditions on which no agreement has been announced. Two regional officials told the news agency that mediation efforts had made progress and that mediators were pushing for a framework under which Iran would halt its attacks in the strait in exchange for the United States lifting its blockade of Iranian ports. The officials added that further talks were scheduled during the week, while Ghalibaf said Washington bore responsibility for avoiding a return to war.
The developments carry economic significance because of the strait's role in global energy trade; the Associated Press said about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies passed through it in peacetime. Brent crude rose nearly 2% to $106.50 a barrel early Tuesday, November 3, after the attack on Qeshm, the news agency reported. U.S. crude also rose 2% to $98.49 a barrel on Tuesday. The agency said oil prices rebounded after a sharp drop the previous day, making the session's move part of broader volatility tied to developments in the confrontation. The escalation's impact centers on the risk of disrupted shipping through a passage that carried a large share of global oil before the crisis.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Monday that he and President Donald Trump "feel very good about the prospects for a negotiated settlement." But the strikes came on the eve of the midterm elections, even though Trump had previously said the United States would not strike Iran before the elections, according to the Associated Press. The agency reported that the last known attacks on Iran by the Trump administration were in early September. Thousands of U.S. troops also remained in waters off Iran to support the naval blockade, the report said. This backdrop puts mediation efforts to the test as they seek to halt military escalation and reach an understanding on the strait and the blockade.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to release its next weekly petroleum report on November 12, covering data for the week ended November 6. The agency's schedule indicates the release was delayed because of the Veterans Day holiday. The report follows a session in which Brent and U.S. crude rose after the attack on Qeshm. Its data will provide a later reading on oil inventories during a week of escalation, while diplomatic moves expected during the week remain directly tied to the course of the crisis. The proposed mediation framework, which links a halt to attacks with the lifting of the blockade, remains central to the next political development.