Washington (United States) (AFP) – President Donald Trump said a US naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices to spike to their highest level in more than four years, which held into Thursday. Trump is expected to receive a briefing on Thursday on new plans for potential military action in Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, two sources with knowledge told Axios.
With diplomacy between Iran and the United States at a standstill after false starts, Trump spoke by phone Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who warned him of “damaging consequences” if the United States and Israel resume their war on Iran. Meeting oil executives, Trump contended that the blockade of Iranian ports — which Tehran has demanded must end before any deal — was more effective than bombing.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday on X that it had reached a “significant milestone after successfully redirecting the 42nd commercial vessel attempting to violate the blockade”. It said there are “41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can’t sell”, estimating the value at more than $6 billion. Trump has faced intense political pressure to end the war, which is unpopular even with much of his base, having increased costs for American consumers and unnerved US allies.
Trump, speaking to Axios, said of the naval action on Iran: “They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them.” Oil prices soared to four-year highs, with US benchmark Brent spiking more than seven percent to $126.41 for June delivery, while West Texas Intermediate was up around three percent to $110.31. Both later pared the gains. Iran has sought to extract a price for being attacked by exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which about one-fifth of global oil typically transits.
The US leader on Wednesday lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, threatening to reduce the number of its troops in Germany over Berlin’s refusal to back the war in Iran or contribute to a peacekeeping force in the Strait of Hormuz. Merz has become a target of Trump’s ire after saying earlier this week that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table. Top US officials including Vice President JD Vance twice turned back last week from trips to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, which has voiced doubts about Trump’s sincerity for diplomacy.
US officials contend they do not know who is speaking for Iran, whether it is the hardline and increasingly empowered Revolutionary Guards or diplomats, after Israeli strikes killed a series of top leaders. The UN Development Programme warned that the war, which has also sent the price of fertilizer soaring, could plunge more than 30 million people into poverty in 160 countries. “It’s development in reverse,” UNDP chief Alexander De Croo told AFP.
But despite the defiance of the cleric-run state, the Iranian rial fell to historic lows against the dollar. Tehran residents speaking to AFP journalists in Paris reported a sense of despair. “Every time in recent years that negotiations have taken place, the economic situation of the people has only gotten worse. Sanctions have either started or intensified,” a 52-year-old architect told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The issue is always nuclear. There’s no talk about people, the economy or freedom. People have the right to not even want to hear the word ‘negotiation’,” he said.
Iran has proposed easing its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz as Washington lifts its blockade and broader negotiations take place. The Trump administration has been skeptical of the proposal. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has emerged as a key figure since the start of the war, said Wednesday the US naval blockade of the country aimed to create division and “make us collapse from within”.
Violence has continued on the war’s Lebanese front, despite a recently extended ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group that drew Lebanon into the war by firing rockets at Israel. Israel responded with strikes and a ground invasion. For the first time since the ceasefire began, the Lebanese army said on Tuesday that an Israeli strike had targeted its troops, wounding two soldiers in the south. Another strike on Wednesday killed a Lebanese soldier, it said.
“Israel must finally realize that the only path to security is through negotiations, but it must first fully implement the ceasefire in order to move on to negotiations,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said. A UN-backed report said Wednesday more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon were expected to face acute hunger due to the latest war.
© 2024 AFP
