Brent crude rises 3% to $91 as Hormuz shipping drops to 15 ships daily
President Donald Trump on Monday said he would “hit them hard” after Iran struck American bases in Jordan, the first intensification of fighting between the two countries in roughly a month.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump said in a Fox News interview Monday.
The exchange began Sunday with U.S. military strikes on Iranian forces on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said in a Sunday social media post that the strikes were “limited” action against Iranian forces it said were planting mines in the waterway. The command added that the Iranian military was “observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines” into the strait.
Iran struck U.S. bases in Jordan; the Jordanian military reported intercepting at least eight missiles as of Monday morning. Iran had warned earlier that it would respond to the U.S. strikes. Separately, Iran launched drones over an air base in the United Arab Emirates and at least one over UAE waters. An Iranian statement said the targets were locations “where helicopters and troops of the child-killing American military” are stationed.
The renewed fighting pushed global oil prices higher. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, rose 3% on Monday morning to $91 per barrel, according to United Press International, after prices had declined slightly the previous week. About 15 ships per day have traveled through the Strait of Hormuz over the past week. Before the war, the route carried millions of barrels of oil daily as one of the key thoroughfares in Middle East oil trade.