OIL prices have leapt to their highest price since the start of the US-Israeli war in Iran.
It comes after Donald Trump reportedly told his aides to prepare for an “extended” blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Oil prices have risen to their highest price since 2022 Credit: Reuters
But US President Donald Trump insisted that his naval blockade was ‘genius’ and ‘100 per cent fool proof’ Credit: AP
Brent crude, the global benchmark oil price, soared to £89 a barrel on Wednesday evening.
It’s the highest prices have been since 2022, but Trump insisted that his naval blockade was “genius” and “100 per cent fool proof”.
The American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz responds to an Iranian refusal to reopen the critical oil chokepoint.
It applies to tankers carrying sanctioned oil or visiting Iranian ports.
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Iranian gunboats, meanwhile, are targeting any ships that try to cross the Strait without permission.
The US and Iran have both boarded ships in the waterway in recent days, with Iran claiming to have captured two tankers.
Iranian state media said tonight that six crew members who were aboard US-seized ship Touska on 20 April have been returned to Iran, with 22 members still detained.
US central command said the vessel was boarded after it attempted to defy American orders to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz, releasing dramatic footage of its capture.
And the US president earlier threatened the crumbling regime with a gun-toting AI picture while declaring “no more Mr Nice Guy”.
He claimed that the King, in Washington on a state visit, would have helped the US in Iran if he could have done.
Trump told reporters: “The King is fantastic. We spent a lot of time together. We had a lot of talks.
“We talked about this also. He loves his country, and he’s a great King. And he’s a great friend.
“I think if he were doing that, if that were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran.”
Last night, the US president said His Majesty “agrees with me, even more than I do” that Iran should not be allowed a nuclear weapon.
Trump chucked out Tehran’s latest peace proposal, insisting that US negotiators are in no rush to push through a deal unless the rogue nation surrenders its nuclear ambitions.
He rejected a plan that would have seen the Strait of Hormuz opened first, and nuke talks pushed back till the end of the war.
He has also reportedly told aides to dig in for an extended blockade of the 24-mile-wide waterway in a bid to cut off the regime’s much-needed oil and gas exports.
Trump told Axios: “They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them.
“They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump also hit out at allies once again this evening, threatening to withdraw US forces from Germany.
After a spat with Chancellor Merz, he posted on Truth Social: “The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”
It’s just the latest jibe from the US President at a fellow Nato ally.
He has repeatedly slammed the alliance as a “paper tiger” for not coming to his aid in Iran.
And last week a Pentagon email reportedly detailed ways the US could “punish” “unhelpful” countries.
The bombshell policy memo included suggestions to “review” US support for the British claim to the Falkland Islands as well as kicking some countries from the alliance altogether.
