TRUMP ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO IRAN: OPEN HORMUZ OR FACE POWER PLANT STRIKES
GREATRIBUNETVNEWS–US President Donald Trump has given Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the strait is not fully opened to commercial shipping
Key Issues:
– _”If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”_ – President Donald J. Trump
– Strait of Hormuz Blockade: Iran’s closure of the strait has paralyzed oil and gas shipments, affecting 20% of global oil and gas transit.
– _”The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!”_ – Trump
– Energy Supply Shock: Crude prices surge, with Brent futures closing at $112.19 on Friday.
– Iran’s Response: Tehran vows retaliation, targeting US and Israel-linked energy and IT infrastructure.
The region’s energy assets have increasingly come into focus as attacks widen, with Israel striking the South Pars gas field last Wednesday, and Iran retaliating with its own volleys on the world’s largest LNG facility, in Qatar.
More than 100 people were injured in Israel on Saturday by multiple Iranian strikes in the country’s south, as Tehran sought to retaliate for an earlier attack on its own nuclear facility.
As the conflict, entering its fourth week, caused a surge in energy prices, the US Treasury has taken the extraordinary step of allowing the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemical products that had already been loaded onto tankers despite existing sanctions.
The price spikes pose political risks for Trump at home, just eight months before midterm elections expected to hinge largely on voters’ view of the US economy and consumer costs.
Although the US is pumping record amounts of oil and gas domestically, and is less reliant on Middle East resources than China, Japan and other nations, the supply shock tied to the strait is being felt in higher prices globally.
Trump’s mixed signals have left governments and markets scrambling to keep up with the shifting messages. On Friday, he posted: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East.”
But Israeli Defence minister Israel Katz said Saturday that the joint campaign would intensify significantly, a day after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia — nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) away from Iran.
The base suffered no damage, according to a person familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity, but the attack demonstrated a capability that goes beyond what Iran was known to have possessed.
Trump’s efforts to enlist US allies in helping reopen the strait to widespread commercial ship traffic have largely been rebuffed. Trump, in turn, has lashed out at fellow NATO members, branding them “cowards” for not joining the efforts.
Trump previously has promised US naval escorts and a government-backed reinsurance programme to help lower the barriers to sending ships through the strait amid the conflict. However, there are no signs that any tanker has yet transited with the help of the US Navy.
Israel and Iran also traded more missiles strikes on Saturday.
Iran said it fired missiles at the Israeli city of Dimona, which also lends its name to a nearby nuclear research facility, in what Iranian state TV labeled a response to an earlier attack on the country’s Natanz nuclear facility.
Israeli authorities said some 47 people were injured. A second strike landed in southern Israel, where three residential buildings suffered significant damage in Arad and hospital officials said more than 60 people were wounded, including seven who were taken to the hospital.
SOURCE ==BLOOMBERG ==EXCEPT THE HEADLINE AND INTRO PLUS A FEW PARAGRAPHS
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