Washington, United States. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was going to be hitting Iran “very hard over the next week” as oil prices swung amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump comments and oil market reaction
Trump’s remarks came shortly after issuing a partial 30-day waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, aimed at easing prices fuelled by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Prices have been whipsawing on Trump’s comments about the likely duration of the war, which has prompted Iran to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil.
Trump has previously said the war is “complete”, and also promised to guarantee the safety of vessels in the Strait. In a Fox News interview aired on Friday, Trump said the U.S. would escort shipping there “if we needed to”.
Benchmark Brent crude eased about 1% to around $99.50 in early European trading on Friday, still up almost 40% since the start of the war, with European and Asian shares under pressure.
Casualties and military developments
After nearly two weeks of war, 2,000 people have been killed, most of them in Iran, but many also in Lebanon and a growing number in the Gulf, which has for the first time in decades of Middle East conflicts found itself on the frontline.
U.S. forces have also suffered casualties. The U.S. military confirmed that four of six crew members aboard a refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq were dead.
Iran fired another barrage of missiles and drones at Israel, while the Israeli military said it had launched strikes across Tehran and continued to attack the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militia across Lebanon and in the capital Beirut.
Rally in Tehran and Israeli strikes
Iranian Press TV said a woman had been killed by an airstrike close to a rally in Tehran for Quds (Jerusalem) Day, one of many held across Iran in support of Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied territory. Iranian media said President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had both attended the rally in a gesture of defiance.
The Israeli military said its air force had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air defence systems and weapons production sites.
Energy supply concerns
The prospect that the jolt to global energy supplies could endure boosted oil prices about 9% to $100 a barrel on Thursday, helping drive down U.S. stocks.
How do you expect developments in the Strait of Hormuz to affect oil prices in the coming days?