Oil plunges as Trump warns Iran against blocking Strait of Hormuz
Oil prices rose nearly 20 percent on Monday as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continues and fears of prolonged disruptions in energy supplies grow.
Anton Petrus | An | Getty Images
Oil prices fell 10 percent on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran would be hit “twenty times harder” if it tried to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, while also signaling that the conflict with Iran could end soon.
International Brent crude oil It fell nearly 11% to $88.36 per barrel at 21:25 GMT on Monday. US crude oil It fell over 10% to $85.17 per barrel. The declines came after oil surpassed $100 on Monday.
US President Donald Trump said, “If Iran does anything to stop the flow of oil in the Strait of Hormuz, it will be hit 20 TIMES harder than it has ever been hit by the United States.” he said in a post Truth Social in America is on Monday.
Located between Oman and Iran, the Bosphorus is a vital transit route for global energy markets. About 13 million barrels passed through the waterway in 2025, accounting for about 31% of global seaborne oil flows, according to Kpler.
It connects the Gulf’s major producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Oil prices since the beginning of the year
Earlier in the day, Trump told CBS News by phone that ships were continuing to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that he was “considering taking over there.”
At a press conference on Monday, Trump also said the war against Iran would end “very soon” and oil prices would fall.
“I think there’s a lot of optimism in the market,” said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group.
“We saw that today with the collapse in oil prices through what we call verbal intervention by the President.”
The market is still struggling to grasp the extent of the disruption, McNally said, noting that traders have assumed for decades that no country would be allowed to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.
It was “completely catastrophic and unexpected” for this to happen, said McNally, noting that the waterway was never completely closed, even during tensions in the 1980s.
The official stated that the markets are currently making predictions that this situation will not last long and that transportation in the Bosphorus will eventually be restored.
