A general view of the Kharg Island oil terminal port, 25 km off the Iranian coast and 483 km northwest of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf in Iran on March 12, 2017.
Anadolu | Anadolu | getty images
Oil prices reversed a losing trend in early trading in Asia as traders assessed President Donald Trump’s statements on ending the war in Iran.
Trump told his aides he is willing to end U.S. operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, because forcing Tehran to reopen the oil chokepoint could escalate the conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.
West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery reversed gains and fell 0.72% to $102.14 a barrel by 10:31 p.m. ET. Brent crude May futures also fell 1% to $ 111.55 per barrel.
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Trump had previously threatened to expand attacks on Iran’s civilian energy infrastructure, including water desalination plants, if Tehran failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the Truth Social Post, Trump said on Monday that if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a peace deal to end the war, “we will end our sweet ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely destroying power plants, oil facilities and “possibly” desalination infrastructure.”
The Iran war has entered its fifth week as hostilities escalate across the region. tehran Collided with a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the anchorage area of Dubai Port early Tuesday.
According to one, “Authorities in Dubai continue fire-fighting operations in response to the incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker.” social media post The Dubai government has said that there is no information about anyone being injured.
Trump has regularly touted talks with Iran as productive and warned he was prepared to order more military forces into the region.
He told reporters on Monday that Tehran had agreed to “most” of the 15-point ceasefire proposal put forward by the US, while Tehran has publicly rejected the terms and responded with its own conditions, including maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has also reportedly considered the option of sending ground forces to seize Kharg Island, a key fuel hub that facilitates 90% of Iran’s crude exports.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carried one-fifth of global seaborne oil shipments before the conflict, has ground to a near halt since the war began on February 28.
Experts have warned that a potential ground campaign to capture Kharag Island could risk increasing American casualties and increasing the cost and duration of the war.
