Trump Threatens a ‘Massive’ Strike on Iran as Oil Tops $100
President Trump has threatened “major military punishment” against Iran and told Axios he is weighing “a massive attack… bigger than ever before”, after Yemen’s Houthis struck a second Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea. Brent crude vaulted above $100 a barrel for the first time since May, settling around $100.70 — up some 7 per cent on the day and roughly 30 per cent across July. The Saudi tanker Layla was hit hours after the Encelia.
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump said Washington would “hold Iran responsible” for Houthi attacks on shipping, branding the group a “surrogate and proxy” of Tehran; he told Axios that Israel “would join in two minutes if I ask them to”. The Houthis said the tankers had been struck with “cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones” in a declared “siege-for-siege” campaign. Saudi Arabia suspended some Red Sea oil movements and five tankers reversed course. Analysts warned Brent could pass its 2022 high of $128 if the Gulf war widens. Watch whether Mr Trump orders the strike he has threatened.