US-Iran war, Strait of Hormuz threat sends prices soaring to four-year-high
Rami Ayyub, Alexander Cornwell, Nayera Abdullah And Maha Al-Dahan
Updated ,first published
Oil prices rose to their highest level in four years as the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran plunged the Middle East and the global economy into deep uncertainty.
A day after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the price of Brent Crude oil increased by 13 percent to over 82 US dollars per barrel, while West Texas oil was hovering around 72 US dollars. Iranian officials said they attacked three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, an important transit point.
Oil from the Persian Gulf must pass through the waterway to reach major markets such as China, India and Japan. Iran pumps about 3.3 million barrels a day, or 3 percent of global production, but the country has greater influence over energy supplies given its strategic location
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said US forces destroyed and sank nine Iranian naval ships and that combat operations will continue until all targets are completed. Traffic came to a halt in the narrow strait off the coast of Iran, where one fifth of the world’s oil and large volumes of natural gas are handled.
The U.S. and Israeli strikes and Iran’s response have sent shockwaves through industries from shipping to air travel to oil, amid warnings of rising energy costs and disruption to business in the Gulf, a strategic waterway and global trade hub.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Sunday that 48 leaders were killed in attacks against Iran.
In an interview with a Fox News reporter, he was quoted as saying, “It’s moving fast. Nobody can believe the success we’ve had, 48 leaders gone in one go. And it’s moving fast.”
Trump said the aim of the attack was to ensure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, to control its missile program and to eliminate threats to the United States and its allies. US Central Command said the US has struck more than 1,000 Iranian targets since the start of the operation.
In an interview with Atlantic magazine Trump, who encouraged the Iranian people to overthrow their government on Sunday (Washington time), said that the Iranian government wanted to talk to him and he accepted.
In a separate interview with Daily MailTrump said military action against Iran could continue for the next four weeks.
It has yet to reveal its long-term goals for Iran, which is facing a power vacuum that could lead to unforeseen consequences for the region and plunge it into chaos.
As the first US casualties were reported, the vital Strait of Hormuz closed, and glitzy Gulf cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha came under bombardment, the extent of the risk Trump was taking in launching the offensive was becoming clearer.
Only one in four Americans approve of the operation, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Sunday, and if Hormuz, the choke point for about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, remains closed for more than a few days, squeezed U.S. consumers will begin to feel the pressure on pump prices months before crucial midterm elections.
The Israeli military said late Sunday (Iran time) that its air force had established air superiority over Tehran and that a wave of attacks in the capital had targeted intelligence, security and military command centres.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel’s current goal is to weaken the Iranian government and thus bring it down, adding that Israel is “acting in its own way” to drive Iranians into the streets.
Global air travel has also been severely disrupted as ongoing air strikes keep major airports in the Middle East, including Dubai, the world’s busiest international hub, closed in one of the biggest aviation disruptions in recent years.
In Iran, which faces its greatest existential challenge since the 1980-88 war with Iraq, President Masoud Pezeshkian said a leadership council consisting of himself, the head of the judiciary and a member of the powerful Guardian Council had temporarily assumed the duties of Supreme Leader.
Oman’s foreign ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that Tehran is open to any serious efforts to de-escalate tensions.
But it remains unclear what the long-term prospects are for Iran to rebuild its leadership and replace 86-year-old Khamenei, who has been in power since the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned Khamenei’s death as a cynical murder, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called it “blatant murder.”
Israel, which has pressured successive US administrations to take action against Iran, claimed responsibility for Khamenei’s killing while he was at the central leadership compound in Tehran and has shown no sign of curbing its attacks.
“We have the capacity and objectives to continue as long as necessary,” said Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.
“We have the capacity and objectives to continue as long as necessary,” said Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.
Trump warned that the United States would strike Iran with “never-before-seen force” if Iran responded.
But as Iran launched renewed missile attacks across the region, air raid sirens blared across Israel late Sunday, warning of the latest onslaught, including Tel Aviv, where bullets streaked across the night sky.
The Israeli ambulance service reported that nine people died in the town of Beit Shemesh, the United Arab Emirates reported that three people died in Iranian attacks, and Kuwait reported one person died.
Trump said on social media that the US military has destroyed nine Iranian warships so far and is “going after the rest.”
Meanwhile, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany said they were ready to take steps to defend their interests in the region after Iran’s “indiscriminate and disproportionate” missile attacks.
“We will take steps to defend our own interests and the interests of our allies in the region, and potentially launch missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles from the source,” the leaders of the organization, called E-3, said in a statement.
“We agreed to work together with the United States and its allies in the region on this issue.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country had accepted a US request to use British bases for defensive strikes on storage depots or launchers against Iranian missiles.
Starmer sent a video message to X shortly after the joint statement, saying: “Our partners in the Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them and it is my duty to protect British lives.”
“There are British jets in the air as part of coordinated defense operations and these jets have already successfully thwarted Iranian attacks. But the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at their source, either in their depots or the launchers used to fire the missiles. The US has requested permission to use British bases for this specific and limited defensive purpose.”
“We have decided to accept this request to prevent Iran from firing missiles into the region, killing innocent civilians, risking British lives and striking countries that are not involved.”
While some in Iran grieved for Khamenei, others celebrated his death, exposing a deep fault line in a country stunned by the sudden death of the man who ruled the country for decades.
Thousands of Iranians were killed in January during Khamenei’s crackdown on anti-government protests; This was the deadliest wave of unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Images from Tehran show mourners gathered in a square, wearing black and many crying.
But videos posted on social media showed joy and defiance elsewhere, too; People cheering as a statue topples in Dehloran city in Ilam province, dancing in the streets of Karaj city near Tehran in Alborz province, and celebrating in the streets of Izeh in Khuzestan province. Reuters confirmed the locations of these videos.
State media said Khamenei, who turned Iran into a powerful anti-US force and spread his influence across the Middle East during his 36-year iron-fisted rule, was working in his office at the time of Saturday’s attack. His daughter, grandson, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were also killed during the raid.
Two U.S. sources and a U.S. official familiar with the matter said Israel and the United States timed their strikes to coincide with a meeting Saturday with Khamenei’s top aides.
His death and that of other Iranian leaders would deal a major blow to Iran, but it would not necessarily mean the end of Iran’s long-established religious rule or the elite Revolutionary Guard’s dominance over the population, experts said.
As religious leader, Khamenei held ultimate power in Iran, acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and deciding the direction of foreign policy largely defined by conflict with the United States and Israel.
His death sparked protests among Shiites in neighboring Pakistan; where police clashed with demonstrators who breached the outer wall of the US consulate in Karachi, leaving nine people dead. Police in Iraq used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Green Zone, where the US Embassy is located in Baghdad.
Reuters, Bloomberg
