As the Middle East conflict intensifies, reports have emerged that Iran secretly sought negotiations with the United States to cease hostilities, but these claims were firmly denied by Iranian officials, who dismissed them as “psychological warfare” and lies.
(Background: Bitwise CIO: Israel-Iran conflict “has changed finance,” traditional finance embracing blockchain faster than expected)
(Additional context: Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, “fires on more than a dozen oil tankers”! Trump warns: tolerates rising oil prices for now, joins Germany and Israel in countering)
According to the latest report from Bloomberg, Iran denies that its intelligence agency actively contacted the U.S. to negotiate an end to the Middle East conflict. Earlier, The New York Times reported that Iranian intelligence operatives contacted the CIA through indirect channels on Sunday to discuss ceasefire conditions. However, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency strongly refuted this, citing intelligence sources, calling it “pure lies and psychological warfare.”
Bloomberg further notes that following this denial, international oil prices briefly rose but quickly retraced gains. Traders are now focusing on the U.S. plan to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz — since Israel and the U.S. launched attacks on Iran last Saturday, igniting the war, shipping volume through this critical global energy chokepoint has significantly declined.
Currently, both Iran and the U.S. have publicly stated they will continue fighting, increasing the risk of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East. Since the outbreak of war, over 1,000 people have died (mostly Iranians), and global energy prices have surged accordingly.
Bitcoin Breaks $73,000
Following the news, Bitcoin briefly continued its upward momentum, breaking through $73,000, while Ethereum surged to a high of $2,140.
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