Associated Press
- Oil prices rose 1% on Friday as tensions between Iran and the US continue.
- In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mike Pompeo said he’d "happily" go to Iran for talks.
- Britain’s government has said that it will provide Royal Navy escorts for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
- View markets Insider for more stories.
Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, said he would "happily" go to Iran for talks amid rising tensions between Iran and the US.
The US secretary of State said to Bloomberg TV: "Sure. If that’s the call, I’d happily go there… I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian people," according to Reuters.
Pompeo added: "Every country that has an interest in ensuring that those waterways are open and crude oil and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz needs to participate."
Tensions in the region have been flaring recently. Iran reportedly fired missile with a 1,000 kilometer range on Wednesday. And oil prices rose 1% on Thursday, due to the conflict in the Middle East as well as a "big decline in US crude stockpiles," according to Reuters.
Iran has been throwing its weight around, especially with the UK, seizing a British ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane that has been the centre of the British and Iranian conflict.
Iran said that it had done so in retaliation for an Iranian supertanker being impounded by Britain first.
BBC News reported that the UK government will now be providing Royal Navy escorts for British flagged ships passing through the strait.
Iran and the US have been in conflict for the last year, as Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal signed with Iran and other nations.
Earlier this month Iran announced its second violation of the nuclear deal, as it started enriching uranium above the agreed threshold.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Yusuf Khan)