Iran unleashed a wave of attacks against Israel and Gulf nations on Wednesday, including targeting a Saudi oilfield, as reports of a proposed record release of oil reserves helped calm markets and prices.
The war sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has spread across the region and beyond, causing spiking energy costs, fuel rationing, and even school closures.
G7 leaders will meet by video conference later Wednesday to discuss the war’s economic consequences, particularly the “energy situation,” the French presidency said, and the International Energy Agency will decide on a proposal for its largest-ever oil reserve release, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The United States on Tuesday said it was hitting Iranian ships capable of mining the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial passageway for oil that has been effectively closed by Iranian threats. The US military posted video footage of Iranian boats blasted apart, saying it had destroyed 16 minelayers near the strait through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” President Donald Trump wrote on social media. Trump faces mounting political risks over the surging cost of oil, months before US elections.
Crude prices spiked five percent late Tuesday, before turning lower Wednesday after the reserve release report. Trump has said the US military could accompany tankers through the strait, but his administration acknowledged that a post by the energy secretary announcing a first such escort was untrue.
Early Wednesday, the UK maritime agency said a container ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates had been hit by an “unknown projectile,” illustrating the ongoing risks to transport through the region.
With an eye on jittery markets, Trump on Monday said the war would be short, although his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, then said Tehran would be hit by unprecedented fire on Tuesday.
