US Orders 31 Vessels to Turn Back from Strait of Hormuz; Iran Vows to Keep Route Closed; Oil Prices Rise 4%

US Central Command ordered 31 vessels to turn back in the ongoing Strait of Hormuz standoff with Iran. The majority of these vessels complied with the directions, according to US Central Command. Most of the vessels turned back were oil tankers, the command added.

Oil prices jumped four percent before easing on Thursday after Iran vowed not to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so long as the US blockade remained in place. 73 per barrel. 63 per barrel.

Asian stocks mostly fell on Thursday, with declines in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, and Wellington. The market reactions followed Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stating that the country would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid the US naval blockade.

' Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed veteran Al-Akhbar newspaper correspondent Amal Khalil on Wednesday.

The strikes also wounded freelance journalist Zeinab Faraj. A Lebanese Red Cross official stated that Zeinab Faraj was rescued but Amal Khalil died under rubble. Lebanon's Information Minister Paul Morcos called the targeting of journalists a grave crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that Israel does not have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. Saar called Hezbollah the obstacle to peace and normalisation. A Hezbollah lawmaker told AFP that the group might accept indirect talks mediated by the United States.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,454 people since the start of the war, according to Lebanese authorities. Despite a truce, Israel continues strikes in Lebanon. Three children were among the five Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes targeting a group of civilians near Al-Qassam mosque in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Wednesday, according to Gaza's civil defense agency.

At least 786 Palestinians have been killed since the October 10 ceasefire with Israel, according to Gaza's health ministry. The ministry's figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. French President Emmanuel Macron said that a second French soldier died from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah.

US President Donald Trump has not set a deadline by which Iran must submit a peace proposal, according to the White House. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists on Wednesday that the president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal and that the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief.

'The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I've seen today. The White House stated that Iran's seizure of two non-US/Israeli container ships does not violate the ceasefire, amid disputes over the blockade's legality.

Trump said Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over anti-government protests. Trump urged Tehran to release the eight women to help peace negotiations. Iran's judiciary called Trump's claim about halting executions false news and said the women had never faced the death penalty.

The developments come amid ongoing US forces patrolling the Arabian Sea near Iranian-flagged cargo ships. The war in the Middle East has boosted demand to move vital cargo through the Panama Canal, with one vessel carrying liquefied natural gas paying $4 million to skip the line.