Turkey steps in to broker Hormuz reopening and US-Iran ceasefire talks

The world’s most consequential waterway is still effectively closed, and Turkey is now one of the countries trying to change that. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi focused on two intertwined problems: keeping the US-Iran ceasefire alive and restoring commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The stakes are hard to overstate. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil exports, and it has faced severe restrictions since the conflict began. The International Energy Agency has described the resulting supply disruptions as the largest in oil market history. How this conflict got here The current crisis traces back to February 28, 2026, when US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered an open military confrontation. A two-week truce in April 2026 held briefly before unraveling. A memorandum of understanding reached in June 2026 similarly struggled to translate into durable calm on the ground or at sea. Brent crude has spiked above $100 per barrel during periods of peak market stress, reflecting how directly traders have priced in the risk of prolonged supply disruption. What Turkey is actually proposing ...