(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said the massive release of emergency oil reserves approved by the International Energy Agency would ease energy price pressures while the US seeks to \u201cfinish the job\u201d in its campaign against Iran.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Kentucky on Wednesday evening, Trump said the move would \u201csubstantially reduce oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The confirmation did little to calm volatile markets. Brent crude jumped above $100 a barrel after Oman cleared all vessels from its key export oil terminal as a precautionary measure and two tankers were attacked in Iraqi waters \u2014 underscoring risks to shipping beyond the Strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively closed.<\/p>\n
Hours after the president spoke, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the administration planned to release 172 million barrels from the US emergency oil reserve. The release would take about 120 days to fully deliver, Wright said.<\/p>\n
There was no letup overnight in the Middle East, with strikes hitting energy infrastructure. The attacks on oil tankers off Iraq\u2019s coast killed at least one person, Agence France-Presse reported. Bahrain said Iran targeted fuel tanks, Dubai reported a drone strike on a building, and Saudi Arabia cited another incursion.<\/p>\n
Trump repeated his assertion that the war would end soon, though also suggested American forces would stay as long as it takes to finish their objectives. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to leave early, right?\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n
Asked earlier Wednesday whether Iran had laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump told reporters, \u201cWe don\u2019t think so.\u201d The Islamic Republic has placed about a dozen mines in the waterway, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
In the Kentucky speech, Trump praised the US military\u2019s prowess in the conflict. \u201cThey don\u2019t know what the hell hit them,\u201d he said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t expect anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier Wednesday, the IEA approved its largest-ever release \u2014 400 million barrels \u2014 more than double the 182 million barrels released after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron said the discharges would be organized in the coming days.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Hormuz has been all but impassable since the opening salvos of the war, which continued for a 12th day. Several energy giants have curbed production. <\/p>\n
A one-month closure of the waterway would drive Brent toward $105 a barrel, while a three-month shutdown could push peak prices near $164, according to a model of a prolonged halt in traffic from Bhargavi Sakthivel and Ziad Daoud, economists at Bloomberg Economics.<\/p>\n
Photographer: Bing Guan\/Bloomberg <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the US national average cost for a gallon of gasoline rose to $3.58 on Wednesday, its highest since May 2024, according to AAA data.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrices are coming down very substantially. Oil will be coming down,\u201d Trump said, adding that it\u2019s \u201cjust a matter of war.\u201d Prices rose \u201cless than we thought\u201d and will retreat \u201cmore than anybody understands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump is preparing to invoke Cold War-era powers to clear the way for renewed oil production off the southern California coast, according to a person familiar with the matter. The US International Development Finance Corp. also announced that Chubb Ltd. is partnering with the agency on a $20 billion reinsurance backstop aimed at reviving shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Trump told Axios the war would end soon because there is \u201cpractically nothing left to target\u201d in Iran, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said there is no timeline for total defeat. Iran has told intermediaries a ceasefire would require guarantees from the US and Israel against future attacks, according to several officials familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
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Switzerland, which serves as the protecting power for the US in Iran, temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran due to increased security risks, though it said it would continue its mandate.<\/p>\n
The UK Navy said three vessels were hit with suspected projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Oman reported that a Thai-flagged cargo vessel was also targeted.<\/p>\n
US Central Command in a social media post warned civilians to \u201cimmediately avoid all port facilities where Iranian naval forces are operating\u201d along the strait.<\/p>\n
Iran staged more strikes against Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf countries on Wednesday. Dubai International Airport briefly halted operations after drones struck the facility, resulting in four injuries at the world\u2019s busiest international hub.<\/p>\n
The US and Israel continued strikes in Iran. Israel\u2019s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the campaign would continue until \u201cvictory is achieved.\u201d While the US and Israel remain publicly united and their militaries are working in tandem, officials have acknowledged that a prolonged campaign may start to drive a wedge between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
More than 2,440 people have died since the war began, with Iran and Lebanon accounting for most fatalities. The New York Times reported that an ongoing military investigation found that the US was responsible for a deadly strike on an Iranian school. Iran said 175 were killed.<\/p>\n
US officials say Iran\u2019s attacks are down more than 80%, though Tehran continues targeting military and energy sites and retains key leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have all cut production because of Hormuz\u2019s de facto closure. Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser warned the impact on global petroleum markets could be \u201ccatastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any attempt by the US and Israel to dislodge Iran\u2019s conservative clerics and the well-armed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be a formidable task. The IRGC \u2014 separate from the regular military \u2014 has around 200,000 active troops and another 600,000 volunteers, including the Basij paramilitary militia, US assessments show.<\/p>\n
At least 1,787 Iranians have been killed in the war so far, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. <\/p>\n
Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran\u2019s supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial wave of strikes. Iranian state television has reported that the younger Khamenei had been injured, but the semi-official Iranian Students\u2019 News Agency cited Yousef Pezeshkian, a son and adviser of Iran\u2019s president, as saying he\u2019d been told he was in good health.<\/p>\n
At least 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.<\/p>\n
–With assistance from Michelle Jamrisko, Meghashyam Mali, Jon Herskovitz, Michael Heath, Hadriana Lowenkron, Tony Capaccio, John Bowker, Devika Krishna Kumar, Mike Cohen and Jeff Mason.<\/p>\n
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