HONG KONG - Oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel on Monday and stocks fluctuated as the Iran war moved into a third week with both sides showing no sign of backing down and diplomats trying to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Crude shot up in the opening minutes after the US president said at the weekend that forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran's oil exports.
He also warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if the Islamic republic interferes with transit through Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US-Israel operations began on February 28.
Iran's Fars news agency reported soon after that no oil infrastructure was damaged in strikes.
Trump urged other countries to send warships to keep the waterway open but offered no specifics or commitments from the US side, saying he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part.
He later wrote Saturday in a Truth Social post: "The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help -- A LOT!
"This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be."
However, Japan said Monday it was "not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation", while Australia announced it would not send any navy ships to the region.
Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the fighting, but that he was not prepared to make one on current terms, without giving further details.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was not interested in talks with Washington.
"We don't see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us," he told CBS's "Face The Nation" in an interview aired Sunday.
"There is no good experience talking with Americans," adding that "we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation".
However, he did say he was ready to speak to countries "who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels".
"I cannot mention any country in particular, but we have been approached by a number of countries" seeking such safe passage, he added.