Evening Briefing Americas

Oil Keeps Rising as Iran War Standoff Continues

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A container ship in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, on April 18. After two months, there is still no resolution to the US-Israel war with Iran in sight.Photographer: Asghar Besharati/AP Photo

Having departed Pakistan on Saturday just as the US was preparing to send emissaries to discuss the war, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi eventually popped up for talks with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, where he said Tehran is committed to strengthening its partnership with Moscow.

Araghchi’s geopolitical chess move came after a dissonant weekend of potential feints and false starts in the effort to end the US-Israel war with Iran. As news broke that the Iranian official was leaving Islamabad, Trump announced he was canceling the trip by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in part because the US “has all the cards.”