Iran weighs pausing its Hormuz shipping to avoid derailing talks

Iran is considering a short-term pause to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid testing a US blockade and scuppering a fresh round of peace talks, according to a person familiar with Tehran’s deliberations.

The potential pause reflects a desire to avoid immediate escalation at a sensitive diplomatic juncture as Washington and Tehran sort logistics for another face-to-face meeting, the person said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private.

The Iranian embassy in Britain and the Foreign Ministry in Tehran did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US and Iran are weighing further negotiations to extend a ceasefire, Bloomberg reported on April 13, as US President Donald Trump presses ahead with a naval blockade to curb the Islamic Republic’s oil exports. The objective is to hold fresh talks before the truce expires next week. 

Holding back maritime activity for several days is seen as one possible, pragmatic step to prevent an incident that could undermine the fragile efforts to revive discussions, people familiar with the matter said.

Iran’s calculus remains fluid, they added.

The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could shift course quickly, for example, by trying to show that the US blockade can be challenged without consequence, a move that would risk undercutting the diplomatic track.

Oil traders are laser-focused on any transits through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran blocking almost all non-Iranian shipping and the US now conducting its own blockade. Until now, Iran has been pretty much the only country to send oil through the waterway during the conflict.

A pause would underscore the tightrope Iran is walking as it seeks to project resolve without provoking confrontation that may foreclose a diplomatic opening. BLOOMBERG