US: Rise in Petrol Prices Won't Help Iran Secure Better Deal

Washington (ANTARA) - High petrol prices in the United States will not help Iran obtain concessions from the United States or achieve a more favourable agreement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News television station.

“If Iran thinks they can exploit our domestic politics to pressure the President into accepting a bad deal, that won’t happen,” Rubio said, as reported by RIA Novosti on Friday.

“We have taken extraordinary measures to keep petrol prices lower than in some other parts of the world, and prices will continue to fall,” he added.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), on 14 May the average petrol price in the United States rose to $4.53 (around Rp79,600) per gallon.

On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched attacks on targets in Iran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran then retaliated by attacking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.

On 7 April, Washington and Tehran announced a two-week ceasefire. Follow-up talks in Islamabad ended without clear results, and US President Donald Trump extended the suspension of hostilities to give Iran time to submit a “comprehensive proposal.”

The escalation of tensions due to the US-Israeli incursion into Iran nearly halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and liquefied natural gas from Persian Gulf countries to global markets, causing fuel price increases in many countries around the world.