US NATO Ambassador Whitaker Says Trump Open to Iran Deal If Tehran Stops 'Acting Crazy'

The Trump administration remains open to making a deal with Iran to end more than four and a half months of hostilities, the US Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker told Fox News on Sunday.

"President Trump, ultimately, is a peacemaker," Whitaker said. "There is a deal to be made here if the Iranians would quit acting crazy and actually sit down and negotiate a deal. I would advise them to do the deal." 

Whitaker warned Tehran that the interim peace agreement signed by the two countries was "performance-based." Trump has said, "if shipping is attacked or if the Iranians want to act belligerent, then he will respond with overwhelming force,” Whitaker added.  

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Sunday that “all options are on the table.” He said that Iran “is not living up to” the preliminary agreement negotiators reached in June.

“You cannot start shooting in all directions, attacking your neighbors, attacking civilian shipping, civilian infrastructure, throwing mines in international waterways, and acting like the irresponsible genocidal regime that many have always accused it of being,” Waltz said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. 

Their comments come as tensions between Washington and Tehran have intensified again. The latest tit-for-tat strikes have all but ended negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The fighting has prompted fresh concerns over maritime security and global energy flows. Oil prices rose as traders reacted to the risk of further disruption around the Strait of Hormuz.

Contradictory Hormuz Statements

The two countries have issued contradictory statements on shipping traffic through the strait. There was almost no visible traffic in the strait on Sunday, with only two oil products tankers seen approaching the waterway, Bloomberg News reported. 

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the critical waterway was closed to all vessels "until further notice." 

US Central Command said that Iran does not control the strait and that traffic was flowing.  "Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway," it said.  

In an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Trump was asked to clarify these conflicting statements.

"Yeah. It’s open," Trump said.

Trump said US forces carried out strikes against Iranian targets overnight.

"We bombed the hell out of them last night," he said. He described Iranian leaders as "very, very evil and sick people."

Oil Prices React

The strait is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints with about 20 million barrels of oil a day moving through it. About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through Hormuz before the war began. 

Iran’s grip on the strait during the war led to a global energy crisis. Oil prices climbed to about $120 a barrel after the conflict started.  

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil benchmarks rose slightly on Hyperliquid due to the latest tensions. WTI rose to $73, with its 24-hour volume and open interest rising to $113 million and $222 million, respectively. Brent rose to $78, with a trading volume of $63 million.

"Vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz remain well below pre-war levels," ING commodity strategist Warren Patterson said on Thursday. "And recent developments show that safe passage of vessels is still an issue facing the market."