Global oil prices dipped in early Asian trading on Tuesday after surging to nearly $120 per barrel a day earlier, as escalating tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran rattled global energy markets.
The decline came after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the ongoing conflict with Iran could end “pretty quickly,” although he warned that Washington had not yet “won enough” in the confrontation.
Despite the slight easing in prices, markets remain volatile amid fears that the conflict could disrupt crude supplies from the Middle East, a region that produces a significant share of the world’s oil.
Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, threatening severe retaliation if Iran attempts to disrupt shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz- a narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of global oil supply passes daily.
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States twenty times harder than they have been hit thus far,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He further warned that the United States could strike what he described as “easily destroyable targets” in Iran, threatening that “death, fire and fury” could rain down on the country if tensions escalate further.
Iran, however, has responded with its own warning. Officials in Tehran said the country would not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the region if U.S. and Israeli military operations continue.
The standoff has already led to reduced maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, heightening fears of a major disruption to global energy supply chains.
Meanwhile, Iran is navigating a critical leadership transition as Mojtaba Khamenei assumes the role of supreme leader at a time analysts say represents one of the greatest tests for the country’s Islamic theocracy in decades.
