Europe capitulates at a moment Washington and Tehran (and possibly Oman) continue to be directly at odds over how future shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz energy chokepoint will be administered.
Bloomberg reports Thursday, "Some leading European powers now accept that ships transiting the vital Strait of Hormuz will have to pay fees to Iran and Oman, according to people familiar with the matter."
"The prospect of some sort of service fee in the aftermath of the US and Israeli war with the Islamic Republic was described as a given by two of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations," the report adds.
At the moment there's an uneasy pause in purported 'positive' indirect negotiations in Qatar, as Iran prepares for a multi-day funeral for the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this weekend - which as it so happens will kick off on July 4th.
A fresh Qatar-Pakistan statement has indicated, "The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader." Other sources say a diplomatic 'pause' is on for the m
