The White House is preparing markets for a prolonged squeeze on Iran.
The White House is preparing markets for a prolonged squeeze on Iran. Under the plan being weighed, the US would maintain its naval blockade on Iranian ports while leaning on allies to raise the cost of Tehran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a senior administration official told the AP.
Trump is reviewing multiple diplomatic and policy options, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The backdrop is ugly for energy markets. The strait has been effectively blocked for two months, US gasoline averages have hit $4.23 a gallon — the highest in nearly four years — and Brent surged to $120 per barrel on Wednesday.
Roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG normally moves through the passage, and the disruption is now feeding through to broader supply chains, though some of the missing oil has been redirected through a Saudi east-west pipeline. Tehran’s offer, conveyed via Pakistan, would reopen the strait if Washington lifts the blockade and ends the war — but parks nuclear talks until after a settlement. CNN reported Trump is unlikely to accept, with sources saying lifting the blockade without addressing Tehran’s nuclear programme would erode US leverage.