At the narrow passage where roughly a fifth of the world's energy once flowed freely, uncertainty has become a commodity of its own. Brent crude rose modestly to $83.33 a barrel on Friday as traders weighed Iran's proposals to restrict and tax vessels through the Strait of Hormuz against President Trump's assurances that the broader conflict may soon exhaust itself. The market's cautious upward drift reflects a deeper truth: when the arteries of global energy are in question, peace rhetoric and shipping reality rarely move at the same speed.