A general view of the Port of Kharg Island Oil Terminal, 25 km from the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf and 483 km northwest of the Strait of Hormuz, in Iran on March 12, 2017.
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Oil prices continued to climb with the U.S. threatening further attacks on Iran, including its energy infrastructure and desalination plants as the month-long war showed little sign of relief.
President Donald Trump said Monday that if Tehran didn’t re-open the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a peace deal for ending the war, “we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating” electricity plants, oil facilities, and “possibly” desalination infrastructure, according to a Truth Social post.
The West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery extended gains, rising 3.5% to $106.44 a barrel as of 8:25 p.m. ET, sending their monthly gain to 56.8%, on track for their biggest monthly surge since 2020.
May futures for Brent crude surged 2% to $115.17 per barrel, gaining 58.6% so far this month, poised for their biggest monthly rise on record.
Iran war has entered its fifth week with hostilities escalating across the region. Tehran hit a fully laden Kuwaiti oil tanker in the anchorage area of Dubai’s port earlier Tuesday.
“Authorities in Dubai continue firefighting operations in response to the incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker,” according to a social media post from the Dubai government, adding that no injuries have been reported.
Trump has vacillated between hailing talks with Iran as productive and warning that he’s prepared to order more military forces to the region.
He told reporters on Monday that Tehran agreed to “most of” the 15-point ceasefire proposal put forth by the U.S. while Tehran has publicly rejected the terms and responded with conditions of its own, including maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has also reportedly weighed the option of sending in ground forces to seize Kharg Island, a major fuel hub that facilitates 90% of Iran’s crude exports.
Shipping traffic through the Hormuz waterway, which typically carried a fifth of global seaborne oil shipments before the conflict, has virtually ground to a halt since the war began on Feb. 28.
Experts warn that a potential ground operation to seize the Kharg Island could risk raising U.S. casualties and extending the war’s cost and duration.