Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated that there were no negotiations with the United States and no meetings scheduled. A senior Iranian source also confirmed that no talks with the United States were planned. The United States argued that the June agreement required Iran to keep the vital waterway open, while Iran maintained that it still had authority over shipping in the area. So far, the United States had not been able to force Iran to loosen its control over the waterway. This uncertainty had contributed to rising global oil prices and increased fuel costs in the United States.