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US seeks international help to reopen Strait of Hormuz as crude prices surge

The U.S. is pushing for other countries to form an international coalition to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a State Department cable, as oil prices surged to their highest in more than four ​years on fears of longer-term disruptions to global fuel supplies.
Two months into the war that started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, choking off 20% of the world’s supplies ‌of oil and gas. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn. Efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse, which the United States is trying to unlock with a naval blockade of Iran’s oil exports, the country’s economic lifeline. With talks stalled, U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of fresh military strikes on Iran in hopes it will return to negotiations, according to an Axios report late on Wednesday. That spurred big gains in oil prices, with the benchmark Brent ​crude contract topping $125 a barrel at one point, partly on technical factors related to the expiry of the contract later on Thursday. Since the start of the year, Brent prices have more than doubled, rising on Thursday to their ​highest since March 2022, fuelling inflation and sending pump prices to politically painful levels worldwide. Tehran warned on Wednesday of “unprecedented military action” against continued U.S. blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran says ​its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. “They don’t know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They’d better get smart soon!” Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday, without explaining what such a deal would entail.
The post featured a mock-up image of him ​wearing dark glasses and wielding a machine-gun, captioned, “No more Mr. Nice Guy.” With Washington and Tehran trading public threats, mediator Pakistan was trying to avoid escalation while the two sides exchange messages on a potential deal, a Pakistani source said on Wednesday. The State Department cable said the United States was inviting other countries to join a new international coalition that would enable ships to ​navigate the Strait of Hormuz after traffic through the waterway stalled. The proposed coalition, dubbed the “Maritime Freedom Construct”, would share information, coordinate diplomatically and help enforce sanctions, the cable showed. Tehran has largely blocked all shipping apart from its own from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, since the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on February ⁠28. The U.S. ​began its blockade this month. Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power since the strikes killed several senior political and ​military figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The elevation of Khamenei’s wounded son, Mojtaba, to replace him has handed more power to hardline commanders of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian officials and analysts say.
NN: It is sick joke as reserves are falling the global “leadership” refuses to force open the straights to free navigation. To allow Iran to hold the world the world hostage clearly show the Europeans have no balls. They will pay a heavy price for this staidness

 

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Trump rejects Iran’s offer, keeps naval blockade

United States President Donald Trump told Axios in a part of an interview published on Wednesday that he has officially rejected Iran’s proposal for a ceasefire deal, insisting that the deal must include an article that would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump told the outlet that the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz proved to be “somewhat more effective than the bombing.” “They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he remarked. Moreover, Trump insisted that Iran’s oil storage units are “getting close to exploding” because the commodity is not being exported, which is why “they want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade.” “I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he stressed, adding that airstrikes would resume if necessary.

 

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Brent jumps 7% to highest since June 2022

Oil prices continued to soar on Wednesday, with Brent jumping over 7% to hit the highest price since June 2022, after US President Donald Trump declared that Washington rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal. Instead of lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the American leader claimed that keeping the waterway closed is “somewhat more effective than the bombing,” connecting his refusal to act with claims that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon.

Brent for June’s deliveries advanced by 7.23% at 1:12 pm ET to $119.56 per barrel. A minute later, West Texas Intermediate for the same month’s settlements surged by 7.44% to $107.30.

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UAE to leave OPEC, OPEC+ on May 1

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will leave OPEC and OPEC+, with the decision effective May 1, according to a statement from the country’s Energy Ministry posted on Tuesday. The ministry shared that while the country has been a part of the organization for “decades,” and played an “active role” in supporting the stability of the global oil market, it believes that this was the right time to exit the alliance. “While near-term volatility, including disruptions in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, continues to affect supply dynamics, underlying trends point to sustained growth in global energy demand over the medium to long term,” the ministry shared. The decision was made after a “comprehensive review” and is based “on our national interest,” the ministry added. The country’s oil production is expected to be raised “gradually.” In February 2026, the UAE was the third-largest OPEC producer, with Saudi Arabia in first and Iraq in second place.

NN: This hasuae move has NO market impact, Reality because of the straights blockade all Gulf OPEC members are producing under their quotes. Oil demand is 101MBPD. Including  attempts of all oil producers to increase production reality is the crude oil market is undersupplied,  Production is around 90MBPD. For now higher prices and inventory draw down is barely meeting demand. Global reserve supplies are weeks away from running out. EVEN IF GULF PRODUCTION IS RESTORED

 

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Rubio: US can’t tolerate Iran controlling Hormuz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Monday that the United States will not tolerate Iran controlling or establishing a toll system in the Strait of Hormuz. “What they mean by opening the straits is, yes, the straits are open, as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission, or we’ll blow you up and you pay us,” Rubio said. “That’s not opening the straits. Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize, nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize, a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it.” Rubio further vowed that the waterway would remain open either through international pressure or a coalition-led effort, following significant disruption to global energy supplies.

NN: In case you haven’t noticed the straights are closed and the storage tanks are being drained dry as the world is in denial!
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Trump rushed out of WH dinner after shots fired…. .Trump was target of shooting at Correspondents’

  • Trump, other officials safe after shooting at correspondents’ dinner
  • Shooter has been apprehended, officials say
  • Suspect wielded a shotgun, FBI official
  • Trump was previously targeted by two assassination attempts

President Donald Trump and officials in his administration were the likely targets of a suspect who fired on a security agent guarding the White House Correspondents’ Association ​dinner in Washington, U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday. The man fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested. Trump ‌and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner.

“It does appear that he, he did, in fact, set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding that the suspect likely traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington.
Trump told reporters at a briefing at the White House after the attack that the Secret Service agent was saved by his bulletproof vest and was in “good shape.” U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the officer had ​been released from hospital. Trump told reporters he believed that he was the target of the attack. The president has survived two previous attempts on his life since 2024, a period of ⁠deepening political polarization in the United States.
A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a California resident about 31 years old. Little was immediately known about Allen’s background, ​but social media postings suggested he was a teacher in Torrance, near Los Angeles. Washington interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated but it was too soon to say what his motivation was, Carroll said. Based on preliminary information, he was believed to have been a guest at the hotel, Carroll added. The chaotic events from around 8:35 p.m. (0035 GMT on Sunday) raised fresh questions about the security of top U.S. officials, many of whom were gathered in the hotel’s ​expansive ballroom.
A focus of the investigation is likely to be how the gunman was able to smuggle the shotgun into the hotel, which hosts the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a marquee fixture of Washington’s social calendar.
The black-tie event was attended ​by many members of Trump’s cabinet and other senior administration officials amid heavy security. It was the first time Trump attended the event as president, having boycotted it in previous years.
Afterward, Trump addressed reporters, many still in evening attire, in an extraordinary late-night press conference ‌in the White ⁠House briefing room, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet members. Trump’s wife Melania looked on from the sidelines and demurred when he asked her whether she wanted to talk about the events of the evening.
The venue for the dinner was the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981. Closed-circuit TV footage released by Trump on Truth Social showed the suspect running rapidly through a security checkpoint, momentarily catching security personnel off-guard before they drew their weapons.
No shots were fired at the gunman who got through two checkpoints before being brought down.
Video footage shows Trump and his wife sitting at a banquet table on stage in conversation with someone when a commotion at the rear of the ballroom – caused by the noise of gunshots – triggers a ripple of gasps through the room.
People started screaming “Get down, get down!” Many of the 2,600 attendees dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns took cover under tables as ​security personnel drew their weapons, with some pushing cabinet secretaries to the floor and covering them with their bodies while others formed a protective cordon.
Security personnel in combat fatigues ​stormed the stage pointing rifles into the ⁠ballroom as Trump, his wife and Vance were evacuated. Cabinet members who had been sitting at tables dotted around the vast room were escorted out by their security details one by one. While most guests huddled under tables, some people began chanting “USA, USA!”
Trump stayed backstage for about an hour after being hustled from the stage, a source told Reuters. He later said he had not wanted to leave the event, a remark that echoed images of him defiantly pumping his fist after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, ⁠in 2024.
In that attempt, ​Trump was shot and wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman, who was shot dead by security personnel.
NN: Their is a LOT more to this story. This was not a lone wolf attack. And he got a lot closer to a massacre. Let me finish running down some information sources and ill revert back to you. All the leaders were there. And security was a joke!
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US deploys 3 aircraft carriers to Middle East

Three US aircraft carriers are operating in the Middle East simultaneously “for the first time in decades,” amid Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on Friday. “For the first time in decades, three aircraft carriers are operating in the Middle East at the same time. Accompanied by their carrier air wings, the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) include over 200 aircraft and 15,000 Sailors and Marines,” CENTCOM said in an X post. The command said yesterday that US forces have directed 33 vessels to turn around or return to port since the start of the blockade.

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IEA: 13M bpd of oil lost daily due to war in Iran

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Thursday that the global oil markets have been losing 13 million barrels per day (bpd) due to the energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict. He added that the loss of other vital commodities, including fertilisers and petrochemicals, “which will have a significant impact on the supply chains around the world” in the weeks and months to come. Speaking at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE forum, Birol repeated that this is the “biggest energy security threat in history,” stressing that the longer the conflict lasts, the longer markets will need to recover. He predicted that Europe will need to implement measures limiting air travel if the jet fuel supply is not normalized, especially when the summer travel season begins.

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Third US carrier likely to arrive in Middle East in 3-5 days

The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier is expected to arrive in the Middle East in approximately 3-5 days, a Fox News correspondent shared on Wednesday.  The journalist made the announcement in response to a post on X, which stated that United States President Donald Trump’s new deadline to Iran is set to expire on Sunday, suggesting that the timing of the carrier’s arrival aligns with Trump’s deadline. Last week, media reports claimed that the United States Department of Defense (DoD) will deploy 6,000 more troops in the region soon, and an additional 4,200 by the end of the month.

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Oil jumps 3% on Hormuz ship seizures

Crude prices continued to climb on Wednesday after Iran  seized two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating Middle East tensions. The attacks came even as the US extended its ceasefire deal with Iran, leaving the fate of negotiations uncertain. Tehran has linked future talks to Washington lifting its port blockade. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June’s settlements jumped by 3.48% at 11:37 am ET to sell for $92.79 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent for June’s deliveries increased by 3.34% to $101.77 per barrel.