DUBAI: Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said global fuel prices could stabilise only if economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports end.
"One cannot restrict Iran's oil exports while expecting free security for others," Aref wrote on X. "The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone."
Oil prices rose in early trading Sunday as a standoff between Iran and the US prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.
The price of US crude oil increased 6.4 per cent to USD 87.88 per barrel after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 6.5 per cent to USD 96.25 per barrel.
Iran, which effectively controls the passage, said Friday that it would fully reopen the passage off its coast to commercial traffic. Crude prices plunged more than 9 per cent on the news.
Tehran reversed its decision on Saturday, after President Donald Trump said a US Navy blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect.
The US-Israeli war against Iran, now in its eighth week, has created one of the worst global energy crises in decades. Countries in Asia and Europe that import much of their oil from the Middle East have felt the most impact of halted supplies and production cuts, although rapidly rising gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices are affecting businesses and consumers worldwide.