Oil market becomes hostage to Iran war

• IMO to weigh Hormuz threats at extraordinary session as US Navy ‘not ready to escort ships’• Iran denies mining strait, offers passage to ships that coordinate with its navy• Trump says US ‘making lot of money’ from higher oil prices; boasts of victory ‘in the first few hours’• At least one person killed as IRGC hits more ships in Persian Gulf• First six days cost Pentagon over $11bn; Larijani says they will make US ‘regret starting war’• Drone, missile attacks continue across Gulf region• Tehran slams UN Security Council resolution that didn’t mention US-Israeli aggression

TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: Oil prices rose back above $100 and stocks sank Thursday as Iran’s attempts to hit supplies in the Middle East and bring down the global economy overshadowed a record release of strategic crude reserves by the International Energy Agency.

But US President Donald Trump insis­ted that stopping Iran developing nuclear weapons was “of far greater interest and importance to me” than controlling oil prices.

“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” he wrote on Truth Social.

The International Maritime Organis­ation (IMO) announced an “extraordinary session” next week to discuss threats to shipping in the Middle East, and particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military has said it is “not ready” to escort tankers through the critical waterway because all its assets are focused on striking Iran.

Meanwhile, Tehran denied laying mines in the strait, with the deputy foreign minister saying that ships from some countries were being allowed to cross the narrow shipping lane.

The statement came after media rep­orts suggested that Indian ships were bei­ng allowed safe passage through the strait. Indian PM Narendra Modi also spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezes­hkian, stressing the “safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy”.

However, Iran’s foreign ministry signaled that ships can still pass through the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with the Iranian navy.

“After the current events, generally we cannot return to conditions before Febru­ary 28 (start of the current Iran war) … as we have understood........

© Dawn Business