Air Force One

March 30 (UPI) — Iran has agreed to allow 20 more oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said late Sunday, as he claimed negotiations with Iran over ending the war were going “extremely well.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the tankers will be allowed through the key Persian Gulf oil transit route starting Monday, describing the gesture by Iran as “a tribute” or “a sign of respect.”

Iran has not confirmed the announcement. Trump late last week said Iran had permitted about 10 tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

The press conference was held after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan announced that Iran agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels through the Hormuz at a rate of two per day.

Pakistan is seeking to mediate the U.S.-Iran talks.

“This is a welcome and constructive gesture by Iran and deserves appreciation,” Dar said in a statement. “It is a harbinger of peace and will help usher stability in the region.”

About 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has all but closed it since the United States and Israel attacked Tehran on Feb. 28.

The closure has sent prices higher at U.S. gas pumps. Brent futures early Monday hit $116 a barrel, up from about $72 a day before the war began.

More than a week ago, Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open Hormuz or risk further attacks on its energy infrastructure. He has since extended the deadline until April 6, citing progress in talks with Iran.

“We’re doing extremely well in that negotiation,” he said, while adding that “you can never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up.”

“We’ll make a deal with them. Pretty sure,” he said. “But it’s possible we won’t.”

Immediately after the Feb. 28 U.S. strikes on Iran, Trump called for regime change, a goal that U.S. military and White House officials quickly walked back.

On Sunday, Trump claimed regime change had been achieved saying Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, was killed early in the war and that they were now conducting negotiations with other officials.

“We’ve had regime change. If you look already because the one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead and the third regime, we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before,” he said. “It’s a whole different group of people. And, frankly, they’ve been very reasonable.”

March 17 (UPI) — U.S. gasoline prices have surged by 27% and diesel by 34% since the start of U.S. attacks on Iran last month, fuel costs reported Tuesday indicate.

AAA reported that the national average cost for a gallon of gas in the United States was $3.79 Tuesday morning. Diesel was $5.044 per gallon, topping the $5 threshold for the first time in three years, CNBC reported.

A year ago, those prices were $3.078 and $3.592, respectively. A month ago, they were $2.917 and $3.651.

Fuel prices have been on the rise globally since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 amid negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The attacks, which killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompted Tehran to effectively close down the Strait of Hormuz by banning ships linked to the United States or Israel. About 20% of the world’s oil runs through the waterway that separates Iran and Oman.

Brent Crude, the benchmark price for oil worldwide, rose about 2% to $102 a barrel Tuesday, The New York Times reported. The West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose to $95 a barrel.

Diesel prices are particularly tied to the U.S. economy, which depends on it for the transportation of goods via trucks, trains and barges. Recent surges in prices could have a cascading effect.

Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said Tuesday that trucking and rail companies have begun increasing their fuel surcharges in response to the fuel hikes.

“One should really be worried about higher diesel prices,” he said in a note published by CNBC.

President Donald Trump this week put pressure on other nations that rely on oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz to join a coalition to police the transit route and reopen traffic.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said the United States doesn’t need to be involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz because little of its oil passes through the waterway. About 7% of the United States’ crude oil and condensate imports passed through the strait in the first half of last year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

He said the United States was protecting it “almost like we do it for habit” and to help “some very good allies that we have in the Middle East.”

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said Monday, “until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist.”