Trump warns U.S. strikes on Iran could get ‘really bad’ next week with power plants targeted
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- Trump warned in a Tuesday Fox News interview that U.S. strikes on Iran will intensify, stating: "Next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges" unless Tehran negotiates.
- U.S. Central Command carried out additional strikes against Iran on Tuesday, while Tehran launched attacks on multiple Gulf countries, as the fragile ceasefire continued to fracture.
- Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire "over" after last week's strikes on dozens of Iranian targets, which were launched in retaliation for attacks on commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
- Trump abandoned his threat to impose a 20% levy on cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday, stating instead that Gulf states would invest in the U.S. as repayment.
- Brent crude futures held above $85 per barrel on Wednesday morning as concerns about safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil shipping route — lingered.
- Jakob Larsen, BIMCO's chief safety and security officer, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" that conflicting U.S. messages on shipping policy add to "increased uncertainty, increased risks, and with that comes higher prices."
Why it matters: The Strait of Hormuz is a critical oil shipping lane, and with Brent already above $85 and BIMCO warning of "increased uncertainty," direct escalation threatens global energy costs. Trump's 72-hour whiplash — 20% Strait tariff threatened, then abandoned Tuesday — signals Gulf allies and shipping firms can't plan around U.S. policy from one news cycle to the next.
