The deal would supposedly reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week: File Image/Pixabay

Despite numerous incidences suggesting that the values of Washington and Tehran are too far apart for there to be any secure peace between them, oil traders yet again latched onto news that both parties are exploring a path towards a truce – and crude prices as a result fell about 2 percent.

Insiders told media that U.S. and Iran negotiators in New York were exploring a phased path out of the war; this coincided with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi laying out a step-by-step timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Under the plan, the U.S. would first have four or five days to take steps Iran said were previously established in a memorandum of understanding; the strait could then reopen on the sixth day, with negotiations beginning one day later.

“If there is seriousness in the U.S. side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Araghchi added.

Brent on Friday settled down $2.28, or 2.1 percent, at $104.32 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate settled down $2.20, or 2.3 percent, at $92.41.

Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note, "The complex is again coming under pressure ...while talk of diplomatic progress toward opening the Strait of Hormuz is adding to today’s selling."

But it’s doubtful that the U.S. would agree to Iran’s conditions for reopening, especially considering Tehran stated that it would not make any nuclear concessions even if its deal was accepted.

For his part, former U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo warned Friday that a potential agreement with Iran would not eliminate the threat Tehran poses to the Hormuz and the surrounding region.

He said, "Don't be fooled - any deal with the Iranian regime won't deliver stability to energy prices, because the threat to the Strait and the wider region will remain; but when Iran is defeated, we'll see prices go down and the world become a much safer place."

Plus, although it was impossible to separate rhetoric from fact as filtered through media, it seemed that the Hormuz was increasingly becoming a weak playing card held by the Iranians: earlier this week were reports that Saudi Arabia transited 100 million barrels of crude through the waterway since the middle of last week, in addition to pumping oil through its bypass East-West pipeline.

Earlier still, CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins reminded the press that "Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz; the strait is an international waterway that commercial vessels continue to transit with U.S. military assistance."

Hawkins added that U.S. forces have helped nearly 1,500 vessels transit the strait since early May.