Strait of Hormuz

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Even the Saudis Are Worried About High Oil Prices

Officials predict price could climb to $180 per barrel, damaging long-term demand

(Newser) - Saudi officials are looking at a scenario they say they really don't want: oil barreling toward $180 if the Iran war keeps choking off supplies past April. Officials in the world's top oil exporter say their projections suggest benchmark Brent crude could break $150 by mid-April and then...

Trump Slams 'Cowards' Amid Push to Reopen Strait

President criticizes NATO allies for not helping as American forces work to secure Hormuz

(Newser) - President Trump escalated his criticism of NATO allies reluctant to help as American forces worked to secure the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. In a Truth Social post, Trump labeled the allies "cowards" in all caps and warned again that the US would remember. "They didn't want...

US Knew Gas Field Strike Was Planned, Israeli Officials Say

Trump had said attack was a surprise

(Newser) - President Trump's shifting account of an Israeli strike on a major Iranian gas field has become more muddled. Three Israeli officials said the attack on Iran's South Pars gas field was coordinated with the Trump administration in advance, despite the president's initial claim online that the US...

US Gas Prices Near $4 Average
US Gas Prices Near $4 Average
Mar 19, 2026 8:09 AM CDT

US Gas Prices Near $4 Average

Iran war is driving the fastest price surge in years—nearly $1 a gallon in less than a month

(Newser) - Gas is getting pricier fast, and the country is now within striking distance of a $4 national average. AAA put the cost of a gallon of regular at $3.88 on Thursday, up nearly a dollar in about a month and at its highest level since 2022, reports Newsweek . GasBuddy...

Kristof: How Trump Can Get Out of This War
Kristof: How Trump
Can Get Out of This War
OPINION
Mar 19, 2026 7:33 AM CDT

Kristof: How Trump Can Get Out of This War

Columnist urges him to declare victory, then open secret talks with Tehran

(Newser) - Nicholas Kristof sees the Iran war as a major miscalculation by President Trump, and he warns in a New York Times opinion piece that things could get far worse if Trump doubles down instead of finding a way out. What to do? "His least-bad option, I believe, is to...

China Tries to Hold Off on Oil Reserves 'for as Long as It Can'

But as Mideast conflict drags on, nation may not have a choice but to tap into its supply

(Newser) - China may soon be leaning on a different kind of oil lifeline. Energy consultancy FGE says Beijing is nearing the point where it will let refineries tap into the country's large commercial crude reserves as Middle East tensions disrupt flows, especially through the Strait of Hormuz, reports Bloomberg . The...

Next Vulnerable Route for Oil Traffic: Red Sea

Iran threats and Houthi unrest raise risks for vital shipping lane

(Newser) - Iran has already choked off the world's main oil artery—and now it's signaling that the backup route may be in play, too. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut after US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran this week warned that the Red Sea and any facilities supporting the...

Energy Prices Jump After Major Gas Field in Iran Is Hit

Oil nears $110 a barrel following strike on the South Pars site, a major natural gas reserve

(Newser) - Oil markets jolted higher Tuesday after Iran accused Israel of striking a vital gas field, and Tehran responded by putting rival Gulf energy sites on notice. Brent crude jumped more than 6% to just under $110 a barrel, and the price of natural gas rose by about 6% as traders...

Trump Temporarily Freezes Jones Act to Ease Fuel Costs

Waiver greenlit by president allows foreign tankers to move US fuel, related cargo domestically

(Newser) - President Trump is temporarily setting aside a 100-year-old shipping rule as his administration scrambles to curb rising fuel costs tied to the war in Iran. The White House on Wednesday approved a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, a 1920 law that normally requires goods moving between US ports to...

Rising Diesel Prices Should Concern All, Not Just Truckers

Spiking transport costs threaten to push core inflation even higher

(Newser) - Five-dollar diesel isn't just a headache for truckers—it's a fresh problem for inflation. The average price of a gallon of diesel hit $5.07 on Wednesday, AAA reports, up from $3.65 a month ago. That's a jump of about 39%, outpacing the recent surge in...

Lindsey Graham: I've Never Heard Trump So Angry

President continues to rail against allies' reluctance to join war against Iran

(Newser) - After being largely rebuffed in his request for allies' help against Iran, President Trump issued an all-caps retort on Truth Social Tuesday: "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" Trump amplified remarks he made on Monday , asserting that the US is just fine working only with Israel,...

Sri Lanka Makes Every Wednesday a Holiday

A 4-day workweek has been introduced in Sri Lanka as fuel shortages loom amid Gulf conflict

(Newser) - Sri Lanka just gave workers a midweek day off, though it's not for fun. The government has announced that every Wednesday is now a public holiday, in an attempt to cut fuel use as it braces for possible shortages linked to the war involving the US, Israel, and Iran,...

Trump Asks China to Postpone His Trip

President doesn't tie delay to his Strait of Hormuz request

(Newser) - President Trump said Monday he wants to delay a trip scheduled for the end of the month to Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "We've got a war going on," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I think it's important that I...

Trump Blasts Allies Over Gulf Request

But 'we don't need anybody,' he says after lukewarm reaction to request for warships

(Newser) - President Trump publicly criticized US allies on Monday for turning down or slow-walking his push to send warships to guard commercial traffic through the Persian Gulf. Trump, who argues nations that rely more heavily than the US on the region's oil should step up, said "numerous countries" had...

'We Will Remember,' Trump Says in Warning on Strait

President reiterated his call to have other countries help secure Strait of Hormuz

(Newser) - President Trump is pitching the Strait of Hormuz as a loyalty test for NATO, warning the alliance faces "a very bad" future if US partners don't help Washington open the key oil route off Iran. In an eight-minute phone call with the Financial Times , Trump reiterated his view...

Nations Make No Promises After Trump Asks for Help

Wright says gas prices could drop below $3 per gallon by summer

(Newser) - President Trump's appeal for foreign navies to help the US make the Strait of Hormuz safe for shipping—especially for oil tankers—is being met with guarded, mostly noncommittal reactions from the countries he singled out. A day after Trump's call to counter Iran's chokehold on the...

Top General Warned of Strait Closure Before War

Trump acknowledged the risk, opted to go forward, reports Wall Street Journal

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal suggests that President Trump underestimated Iran's ability to throttle the Strait of Hormuz. Its story reports that Trump's top general—Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—warned the president in multiple briefings that Tehran would close the vital shipping lane...

2 EU Nations Are Reportedly Talking With Iran Over Hormuz

Officials tell FT that France, Italy have moved to restart Gulf energy flows without escalating conflict

(Newser) - European leaders are quietly testing a diplomatic side door around the Strait of Hormuz crisis. France and Italy have opened exploratory talks with Iran over securing safe passage for commercial ships, hoping to restart oil and gas flows through the narrow waterway without sliding deeper into the regional war, officials...

Trump: US Bombed Iran's Key Kharg Island Oil Hub

Strike raises stakes in Hormuz standoff, global oil markets

(Newser) - President Trump says the United States has hit what may be the most valuable piece of real estate in Iran's energy network. In a Truth Social post on Friday night, the president claimed that American forces bombed Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, calling it Iran's "crown...

US Weighs Risky Move: Navy Escorts Through Strait
A Tough US Question:
Navy Escorts in Hormuz?
the rundown
Mar 13, 2026 9:55 AM CDT

A Tough US Question: Navy Escorts in Hormuz?

Military is 'simply not ready yet,' says energy secretary

(Newser) - One big unknown in the Iran war is whether the US will begin escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for the world's oil supply. Soon after the conflict began, President Trump said the US Navy would do so if it becomes necessary, notes Axios . With...

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