TOKYO: Oil prices rose Monday morning after US President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk decimating its energy infrastructure, and Israel warned the war would continue for several more weeks.
Shortly after the opening at 22:00 GMT, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark crude, for delivery in May, increased by 1.8% to reach just over $100 per barrel, before falling slightly.
The price of North Sea Brent crude for May delivery rose at a similar pace, to $113.44 a barrel, before slipping to around $111 after 45 minutes of trading.
On February 27, the day before the start of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, they stood at $67.02 and $72.48 per barrel, respectively.
Trump and Tehran have issued threats of retaliation as the war enters its fourth week, with the US president demanding that the Islamic Republic reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas shipments pass.
The bottleneck virtually halted all oil shipments through the narrow waterway, and oil prices soared.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday evening that US forces would “strike and wipe out” Iranian power plants – “starting with the largest first” – if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours, which would be Monday at 11:44 p.m. GMT, according to the time of his message.
In response, the Iranian military said it would target energy and desalination infrastructure “belonging to the United States and the regime in the region,” according to the Fars news agency.
Meanwhile, Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Sunday his forces were expanding their ground campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and warned of a drawn-out operation.
“We are now preparing to advance targeted ground operations and strikes according to an organized plan,” he said.
In retaliation for the US and Israeli military operation, Iran is carrying out missile and drone strikes against infrastructure – particularly energy targets – in Washington’s allied countries, as well as against ships in the Gulf, specifically threatening those that venture into the strait.
