Trump Says Iran Is Faking Ship Attacks to Push Up Oil Prices Before Midterms
As Brent crude climbed to about $113 a barrel, the president claimed Tehran was inventing strikes and mine hits in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had hit four vessels.
By News Media House Staff ·
President Trump accused Iran of fabricating reports of ships being struck by missiles, drones or sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the goal was to raise oil prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. His comments came as crude prices reached their highest level since May.
"Iran is doing everything they can to drive up the price of Oil prior to the U.S. Midterm Election," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that Tehran was "even making up fake hits, mines, and everything else," arguing that more oil was passing through the strait than before the conflict began.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose about 4% on Thursday to roughly $113 a barrel. It had stood at $112 earlier in the morning, a level not seen since May 18. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had attacked four vessels near the strait for using a route Tehran rejects, and that three other ships using the same route hit sea mines and were forced to stop. According to the Guard, all of the damaged ships were on the southern route along the Omani coast, which the U.S. uses to escort tankers out of the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. is moving large volumes of oil out of the Gulf, but the escorts are costly. Continued instability in the region is also keeping prices elevated, even though supply has increased since the early weeks of the war.
Separately, U.S. Central Command marked 100 days since it reinstated a blockade on Iranian ships entering or leaving ports through the strait. It said the blockade has kept $25 billion in Iranian crude exports from reaching the market. The measure was restored on July 14 after the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding collapsed over the wording of one clause. Iran believed the text gave it authority over navigation through the strait and the right to withhold charging fees for at least 60 days, while Washington said it did not allow Iran to determine transit. An earlier blockade ran from April 13 to June 18. As of the last U.S. update on Oct. 17, the current one had redirected 138 ships.
Intelligence firm Kpler told The Wall Street Journal that the shadow fleet of tankers holding Iranian oil in Asian waters, which had been supplying Chinese refineries, ran dry in mid-October. "There's no more oil to discharge to China anymore," said Homayoun Falakshahi, the firm's head of crude-oil analysis.
The fighting has also spread to Saudi Arabia, where Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have stepped up strikes. A Houthi spokesman claimed four operations inside the kingdom in 48 hours, including against targets in Riyadh, Dammam, Yanbu and Abha. CBS News has not independently verified those claims. Saudi Aramco chief Amin Nasser said the East-West pipeline, which bypasses the strait, has expanded its flow from 2 million to 7 million barrels a day. The International Monetary Fund described the economic impact of the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as limited so far, though it expects the Saudi economy to contract 3.3% this year.
On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister for their mediation efforts in a call on Thursday. Top European diplomats from Britain, France and Germany are due to meet counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt in Istanbul on Friday to discuss Yemen, the Strait of Hormuz and other issues.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: CBS News
