Iran Leader Says Hormuz to Stay Shut, Trump Shrugs Off Oil

Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project as of March 11 evening Middle East time, Bloomberg News reporting

(Bloomberg) — Iran’s new supreme leader said the Strait of Hormuz should remain shut and Tehran will look to open other fronts in the war if the US and Israel persist with their attacks.

In his first public comments since succeeding his father at the weekend, Mojtaba Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would seek to ensure the critical waterway for oil and gas stays effectively closed — maintaining a choke on supplies that’s triggered a surge in global energy prices.

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His statement — published on state media on Thursday — came as US President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons and being a threat to the Middle East is “of far greater interest and importance to me” than the cost of oil.

The defiance shown by both leaders indicates that the war in the Middle East isn’t close to a de-escalation after almost two weeks of fighting. Israel launched a fresh wave of large-scale strikes across Iran on Thursday, while the Islamic Republic stepped up attacks on Dubai and shipping assets.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz should stay closed and new fronts in the war will be opened if the US and Israel continue their attacks. These were the first public statements made by Khamenei since succeeding his father four days ago. Bloomberg Opinion’s Marc Champion joins Bloomberg Open Interest with more.Source: Bloomberg

“Studies have been conducted into opening other fronts where the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable, and their activation will take place if the state of war persists,” Khamenei said.

The new supreme leader, a 56-year-old hardline cleric, was appointed after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in early US and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Dubai authorities reported at least two strikes Thursday morning after residents received missile alerts overnight, underlining the threat to the financial and tourist hub long seen as a safe haven. Kuwait reported several drones fired at its international airport, resulting in material damages.

Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel as the warring sides dug in. It’s up around 65% this year.

The US “is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump said in a social-media post. “BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World.”

US officials told lawmakers that the first six days of the war with Iran cost more than $11.3 billion, a person familiar with the matter said, the most detailed assessment yet of the expense of the campaign.

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The US and Israel have been attacking Iran with airstrikes since Feb. 28, triggering a response from Tehran that’s seen missiles and drones fired across the Gulf. Besides jolting energy and financial markets, the conflict has resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and disrupted the flows of fertilizer and other goods.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military is preparing to expand its operations in Lebanon, where it’s been fighting a parallel campaign against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia.

Around 2,500 people have been killed across the Middle East since the war began, official tolls and those from non-government agencies show.

The Strait of Hormuz — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas flows — has been all but impassable since the opening salvos of the war. Countries from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have had to curb crude production.

Ports in Oman and on the United Arab Emirates’ east coast — both outside the narrow waterway — are being used as emergency gateways for goods bound for the region. The US Navy could start escorting tankers through the strait by the end of this month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

The International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that the current oil supply disruption is the largest in the history of the oil market, underscoring days of wild price moves. The war has hit 7.5% of global output and an even bigger swath of exports, it said.

On Wednesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian gave the most specific comments yet as to what it would take for his country to accept a ceasefire. Tehran needs “firm int’l guarantees against future aggression” as well as reparations, he said on X on Wednesday, after speaking to “leaders of Russia and Pakistan.”

WATCH: Oil surged above $100 on the evacuation of ships from an Oman facility and a halt of operations at Iraqi terminals.Source: Bloomberg

Bloomberg reported that Iran is particularly concerned Israel will attack again after the current war ends. It’s unclear if the US is willing to give Iran such a pledge and if it would be able to insist on Israel doing the same.

Back-channel talks between Tehran and US allies are nowhere close to finding a way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter said.

“There’s no plan, there’s no endgame” for the US-Israeli campaign, Richard Dalton, former UK ambassador to Iran, told Bloomberg Radio. “It appears that as the ripples spread, the United States is losing control.”

On Wednesday, Trump tried to reassure Americans and traders about energy prices, saying a massive release of emergency oil reserves approved by the IEA would ease price pressures.

The move to discharge a record 400 million barrels would “substantially reduce oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world,” he said.

His comments and the announcement of the release of reserves did little to calm volatile markets.

The Trump administration plans to issue temporary waivers for a century-old maritime law requiring American-built ships be used to transport goods between US ports as part of its effort stop surging oil prices, according to people familiar with the matter.

The US national average cost for a gallon of gasoline rose to $3.60 on Wednesday, its highest since May 2024, American Automobile Association data shows.

At least 1,825 Iranians have been killed so far, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. As many as 3.2 million Iranians have been temporarily displaced, the UN’s refugee agency said on X.

Seven US service members have died, most of them in the first two days of fighting. There have been several deaths in Gulf countries and Israel.

Some 634 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which began on March 2, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency said.

–With assistance from Michelle Jamrisko.

(Updates with Trump comment in third paragraph.)

Iran Leader Says Hormuz to Stay Shut, Trump Shrugs Off Oil

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