Bitcoin falls below 74K; U.S. former defense secretary: A U.S.-Iran agreement may be difficult to reach before the deadline

Recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have once again drawn significant attention from global financial markets, especially the issue of maritime shipping safety in the Strait of Hormuz. Military confrontations between the United States and Iran in this area have escalated, leading to frequent attacks and seizures of merchant vessels. At the same time, the truce agreement that is currently in place between the two sides is set to expire this week, but peace talks have fallen into a stalemate due to differences in positions. Mark Esper, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, said that the difficulty of reaching an agreement within the next 48 to 72 hours is extremely high. Oil prices have risen again by more than 7%, while Bitcoin has also fallen below 74K after last Friday’s high of 78K.

Hormuz Strait conflict escalates

As a global energy chokepoint, the Hormuz Strait has recently become the core area of military brinkmanship between the U.S. and Iran. Because the Hormuz Strait has seen attacks on merchant vessels, the United States and Iran are on the brink of another outbreak of war, pushing crude oil prices higher.

On Saturday, Iran attacked an oil tanker in the Hormuz Strait. According to CNBC, Iranian Revolutionary Guard fast patrol boats opened fire on the tanker, and a cargo ship was struck by an unknown projectile.

On Sunday, the U.S. Navy opened fire on an Iranian cargo ship attempting to break through the blockade and seized it. On Sunday, Trump again threatened that if Iran’s leaders did not accept an agreement with the United States, he would blow up all of Iran’s power plants and bridges. Trump said Iran’s weekend attack on ships “completely violated” the ceasefire agreement.

Former U.S. defense secretary: U.S. and Iran may be unlikely to reach an agreement before the deadline

With the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement set to expire this week, diplomatic mediation by both sides faces serious challenges. Peace talks originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan were derailed after Iran protested the U.S. military blockade. Mark Esper, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, said that the difficulty of the two sides reaching an agreement within the next 48 to 72 hours is extremely high. He emphasized that the two countries still have major irreconcilable differences on three core issues: the development of “Nuclear Enrichment” technology, nuclear fuel return mechanisms, and future control of the Strait of Hormuz.

International crude oil prices rise; Bitcoin falls below 74K

Driven by turmoil in the Middle East, crude oil prices surged significantly. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for May rose 7% to $89.83 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures for June also rose nearly 5.8% to $95.59 per barrel.

Bitcoin also fell below 74K after last Friday’s high of 78K.

This article Bitcoin falls below 74K; former U.S. defense chief: U.S. and Iran may be unlikely to reach an agreement before the deadline first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.