U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Wednesday that Washington remains open to negotiating an end to the Iran crisis, though he maintained that Tehran is not currently acting in good faith.
The comments, made on the sidelines of the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference in Manila, signal a persistent diplomatic stalemate rather than an imminent de-escalation.
Energy markets absorbed the remarks without significant volatility, with Brent crude holding steady as traders weighed the conditional nature of the U.S. offer.
The administration has previously tied any diplomatic resolution to a halt in Iranian attacks within the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping chokepoint.
As long as that precondition remains unmet, the risk premium embedded in oil prices is likely to persist.
The Strait of Hormuz facilitates roughly a fifth of global oil consumption, making any disruption a direct threat to supply chains and energy costs.