Kuwait Petroleum Corporation told the state news agency KUNA that its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by drones on Friday, sparking fires in several operational units. The company said that no casualties have been reported, adding that emergency and firefighting teams are working to contain fires. It also stressed that no negative environmental impacts have been recorded so far as a result of the attack. Earlier in the morning, the Kuwaiti military said its air defenses were working to intercept “hostile drones and missiles” that entered the country’s airspace, urging citizens to follow security instructions issued by authorities.
Trump: With a little more time, we can easily open Hormuz
United States President Donald Trump signaled on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, currently blocked by Iran, could be open soon. “With a little more time, we can easily
OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A ‘GUSHER’ FOR THE WORLD,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The US president has repeatedly called on NATO allies to help reopen the Strait and slammed them for refusing to do so. He even hinted at a possible US exit from the alliance. Meanwhile, Iran warned that the maritime route would stay closed “long-term” for all ships from the US and Israel
NN: I repeat its all abut the straights and the amount of oil flowing through it. Which right now it ain’t much
Hopes dim for swift end to Iran war after Trump speech, oil prices surge anew
Hopes for a swift end to the Middle East war faded on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, disappointing investors hoping for clearer signals of a way out of the month-long conflict.
Stocks slid, oil prices surged and the dollar gained after Trump said military operations would be intensified in the next two to three weeks, offering no concrete timeline for ending hostilities that have sparked global energy supply chaos and threatened to send the world economy into a tailspin.
The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here. “I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly,” Trump said in a Wednesday evening prime-time speech. “We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong.” Trump also suggested the war could escalate if Iranian leaders did not give in to U.S. terms during negotiations, with strikes on Iran’s energy and oil infrastructure possible. Iran’s armed forces responded with a warning for the United States and Israel of “more crushing, broader and more destructive” attacks in store.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, said the war would continue until the “permanent regret and surrender” of Tehran’s enemies, according to a statement shared by Iranian media.
NO REASSURANCE ON ENERGY CRISIS
Benchmark Brent crude prices jumped about 6% to $107.69 per barrel, with little reassurance from Trump’s address about how the critical Strait of Hormuz energy conduit would reopen. Prices had fallen earlier on Thursday after settling lower in the previous session. Stocks took a hit, with U.S. index futures down 1.3% and European futures sinking over 2%. Almost all Asian bourses were in the red, with Japan’s Nikkei (.N225), down 2.4% and MSCI’s index of other Asia-Pacific shares down more than 2%. “If he (Trump) was trying to inspire confidence in the markets, he has not done that,” said Russel Chesler, Head of Investments and Capital Markets at Vaneck Australia. “The key question in all investors’ minds is ‘When is this going to be over?'” There was no let up in hostilities, with the Israeli military saying it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted four drones on Thursday and Abu Dhabi said its defence systems had intercepted a missile near an economic zone, with minor damage caused. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged its citizens to leave Iraq, warning of attacks in the capital by Iran-allied militia in the next 24-48 hours. Trump in his speech mentioned what he called a short-term rise in domestic gasoline prices but said the U.S. did not need the strait and he challenged allies who rely on oil in the region to work towards reopening it. He blamed the higher costs on Iran’s “deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers”.
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NN: Iran’s only play is to get oil prices so high the world caves in. Trumps has no choice but to take control of the shipping lanes and return product to the market. Either way things are about to get very ugly. As in extreme disruption in oil supplies.
Gold down 2%, silver dips 5% amid Iran crisis
Prices of precious metals plummeted on Thursday, erasing yesterday’s gains, with gold dropping more than 2% and silver sinking over 5%, as United States President Donald Trump signaled a quick end to the military campaign against Iran. Trump said that the US could leave Iran in “two or three weeks,” and insisted that Washington’s “core strategic objectives” are “nearing completion.”
Gold dropped 2.45% to $4,642.66 per ounce, while silver plunged 5.53% to $70.95 per ounce at 1:40 am ET. At the same time, platinum lost 1.50% to $1,948.22 per ounce, and palladium fell 1.10% to $1,466.24 per ounce.
NN: I sure hope you are making my precious metals trades
Oil up 6% as Trump vows fresh attacks on Iran
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Thursday after the United States President Donald Trump said that the US will hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks, further escalating tensions. He also stressed that the US does not need oil from the Middle East and that its forces are there only “to help.” He also urged the countries that depend on oil shipments from the Strait of Hormuz to “grab it” or buy oil from the US. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May’s deliveries surged by 6.30% at 2:12 am ET to $106.44 per barrel. At the same time, Brent for deliveries in June climbed by 6.73% to $108.01 per barrel.
IRGC: Trump’s ‘ridiculous displays’ won’t open Hormuz
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz “will not be opened to the enemies of this nation by ridiculous displays” of United States President Donald Trump. “We would also like to remind the noble and history-making nation of Islamic Iran that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is also firmly and dominantly under the control of the IRGC Navy,” the guard said in a statement. Earlier today, Trump claimed that the Iranian “new regime” president asked him for a ceasefire, but underlined that Washington would agree to it once the passage is open.
NN: Unless you open the straights you have done nothing.
Araghchi: Iran does not accept US ceasefire offer
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted in a televised address on Wednesday that his country does not accept the United States’ ceasefire proposal. Araghchi added that Iran instead seeks to end the conflict with the US and Israel, as well as guarantees that such an operation would not repeat. Meanwhile, his department’s spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, told the press that US President Donald Trump’s claims that Iran asked for a ceasefire were “false” and “baseless.”
Previously, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stressed that the Strait of Hormuz “will not be opened to the enemies of this nation” through Trump’s “ridiculous displays.”
NN: Tonight we get another broadcast of Trumps reality show from the oval office. Watch what he does not what he says. He has 20,000 troops ready to take key Iranian islands.
Gulf allies privately make the case to Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated
Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong U.S.-led bombing campaign, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials. After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complaining the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran’s clerical rule once and for all. Officials from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there’s a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The push from the Gulf nations comes as Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran’s decimated leadership is ready to settle the conflict and threatening to further escalate the war if a deal is not reached soon.
NN: This is not settled until the straights are completely opened for at least 6 months
Oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy hit in missile attack
The Qatari Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday that the country was targeted by “three cruise missiles launched from Iran.” According to the statement, “our armed forces … successfully intercepted two of the cruise missiles, while the third missile struck an oil tanker leased to Qatar Energy in Qatar’s territorial waters.” All 21 crew members were evacuated without casualties. The incident comes after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) earlier reported that a tanker was struck twice 17 nautical miles north of Ras Laffan.
NN: A tanker a day keeps the bankers away… and the insurance companies too. This one was the Aqua 1
Dow soars 900 points on hopes Iran war nears end
Major stock indexes on Wall Street extended gains on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones soaring over 900 points after reports surfaced that the US-Iran conflict may be coming to an end. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country was ready to end the war, but only if there were guarantees against future attacks, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. Furthermore, The New York Post reported that US President Donald Trump believes the war will likely end soon, with other nations taking the lead in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The Dow Jones skyrocketed 2.14% or 964 points at 1:03 pm ET. At the same time, the Nasdaq 100 rose 3.10% and the S&P 500 added 2.56%. The euro gained 0.8% against the dollar, changing hands for 1.15524.