Trump moves to give oil ships financial cover amid Iran war

President Trump took steps Tuesday to prevent a sharp decline in global oil supply and give maritime shipping companies financial protection amid the war in Iran.

The president said Tuesday he was ordering the U.S. Development Finance Corp. (DFC), a federal agency, to provide political risk insurance for shipping companies traveling through the Persian Gulf.

Oil prices have spiked since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran over the weekend, killing Iranian supreme leader Ayotollah Ali Khameni. Iran has said it would close the Strait of Hormuz in response, choking off the key maritime shipping lane for energy and other firms.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump ordered DFC to offer “at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines.”

The president also said the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “if necessary.”

Trump’s move is intended to give oil and shipping companies financial cover for any losses sustain from attacks by Iran if they defy a Hormuz blockade or are otherwise caught in the hostilities in the gulf.

The announcement helped bring stocks back from a deep Tuesday swoon, and pushed oil prices down after another spike earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 350 points within an hour of Trump’s announcement after sinking by as much as 1,200 points earlier in the day. The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 index also pared back their losses to1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, up from declines of 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent.

Oil prices also dropped back toward their opening levels Tuesday after rising sharply, with west Texas intermediate crude falling back to $73 a barrel, up $2 on the day, and Brent crude back to $80, up $2.5 on the day.

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