U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest vow to hammer Iran “extremely hard” in coming weeks has sparked a sharp surge in oil prices, rattling stock markets across the U.S., Europe, and Asia while exposing the fragility of global energy supplies amid the escalating conflict.
Speaking from the White House, Trump reiterated that America would fulfil its military objectives “very shortly,” dedicating the next two to three weeks to bombing Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”
Hopes for a clear exit strategy evaporated as his remarks mirrored previous statements, prompting Brent crude to briefly top $109 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate to flirt with $110 in New York trading, according to Bloomberg figures. Prices had eased below $100 earlier Wednesday on de-escalation optimism, but the address triggered an over-8% Thursday spike before partial pullbacks.
The war, ignited by U.S.-Israeli strikes on 28 February, has crippled flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of seaborne oil per U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Iranian tanker threats have halted shipments, cutting global supply by millions of barrels daily and forcing costly detours.
Trump brushed off U.S. reliance on Middle East energy, pressing other nations to muscle in and reopen Gulf routes. “To those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait and just take it,” he said, predicting a natural postwar thaw: “When this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally. It will just open up naturally.”
Scepticism abounds. InterCapital Energy’s Alberto Bellorin described it as a stark market reality check after ceasefire hype, with no concrete timeline and reopening now months away.
Columbia’s Anne-Sophie Corbeau, ex-BP analyst, warned of three-to-five-year repairs to battered Gulf infrastructure and persistent blockages, plus $2 million strait fees as a potential worst-case for shippers.
Markets wavered: S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out 0.1-0.2% gains, Dow dipped 0.1%; FTSE 100 closed 0.69% higher after early losses; Cac 40 and Dax fell 0.24-0.79%; Nikkei plunged 2.4%, Kospi 4.5%.
Asia, hooked on regional oil, suffers most, with Goldman Sachs eyeing $120 Brent by mid-2026 if impasse drags on.