Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire for three weeks at a meeting at the White House brokered by President Donald Trump, who said he was prepared to wait for "the best deal" to end his conflict with Iran, Reuters reports.
Fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has been one of a number of sticking points to resolving the wider eight-week regional conflict, along with Iran's nuclear ambitions and control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said he was in no rush to reach a peace agreement and wanted it to be "everlasting," while continuing to assert that the U.S. had a clear upper hand in the naval stand-off in the strait.
A day after Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the key shipping corridor, Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran's "little wise-guy ships" and said he believed Tehran was hamstrung from making a deal because its leadership was in turmoil.
On Thursday, he said the U.S. could knock out in a day any refurbishing of weapons that Iran may have made during a ceasefire in place since April 8.
But navigation in the passage remained effectively blocked, and the Iranian capture of two huge cargo ships was a reminder that the U.S. struggles to keep control of the strait and Tehran continued to cause trouble for oil markets and pose major strains to the global economy.
The Philippine government said 15 Filipinos were on the two vessels and believed to be safe and that it expected the ships to be cleared soon.
Oil prices resumed their rise on Friday as the ceasefire remained shaky with the blockade of the strait unresolved. The U.S. dollar was moving closely with oil prices, on track for its first weekly gain in three weeks, with dampened hopes for an immediate easing of tensions leading to increased safe-haven demand.
