Israeli official says chance of US-Iran deal is small, Jerusalem Post reports
The comment comes as Washington and Tehran discuss a phased plan to lift the US blockade and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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An Israeli official says the chance of a deal between the United States and Iran is small, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The remark follows a separate Israeli warning that the country will strike Iranian nuclear sites again if Tehran crosses red lines. It comes as Washington and Tehran discuss a phased deal to lift the US blockade and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said he hopes the US and Iran reach an agreement on the nuclear issue, and that China backs a return by both sides to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, comments he made during his state visit to Washington.
Oil has already priced in weeks of tension. Brent crude climbed to $105.38 a barrel this week after Iranian airlines cancelled all flights to the UAE and talks over the Strait of Hormuz showed no sign of progress. The UAE's Civil Aviation Authority has suspended Iranian airline flights to and from the country, and the US Treasury says 80-90% of Iran's external flights are already grounded.
The Israeli official's skepticism sits against those diplomatic signals from China and the tentative, phased talks on Hormuz. It looks more like a hardening of Israel's public position than a sign of any new obstacle to the negotiations, and it leaves the diplomatic process itself unchanged. With oil markets already pricing in prolonged tension, the comment adds at most marginal downward pressure rather than a fresh shock.