US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit Iran with harder strikes if it disrupts oil supplies any further, after prices hit a four-year high this morning.
“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply, and if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” he says.
Oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones and missiles, he says, while the Strait of Hormuz “is going to remain safe”.
He continues:
“We’re putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil and gas prices for American families. We’ve done that. We’ve brought it very low. This was just an excursion into something that had to be done.”
Trump says he knew oil and gas prices would go up ahead of the war, but claims they have gone up less than he expected.
Turbulent day for oil: Prices suffered the single one-day spike in six years this morning, cruising past $100 a barrel to hit a high of nearly $120, the highest since 2022.
But after Trump’s indications that the war would not last that long, the price fell back below $90.
US correspondent David Blevins had this take on Trump’s changing timeline for the conflict: “As is often the case with Donald Trump, decisions appear to be driven by what’s going on with the economy, rather than any of those objectives he’s been setting out.”
