US President Donald Trump said he would waive oil-related sanctions, have the US Navy escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and predicted on Monday that the war with Iran would resolve "very soon" as he confronted mounting economic and political pressure and days of dramatic fluctuations in oil markets.
Trump stated that he didn't think the conflict would end this week, but he emphasized that the operation was proceeding according to plan and aimed to reassure investors who were growing increasingly worried about energy prices. He vowed bombing "at a much, much harder level" if Iran disrupted oil supplies.
"We're looking to keep the oil prices down," Trump said at a news conference at his resort in Doral, Florida. "They went artificially up because of this excursion."
Trump said he could waive "certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices" but didn't offer additional specifics, beyond acknowledging he had discussed the topic with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call earlier Monday. Russia has faced a range of restrictions on its vast oil industry, including a price cap on its crude and US sanctions on its two largest producers, in a bid to deprive the country of revenue over its war in Ukraine.
Trump is weighing a range of options to blunt surging oil and gasoline prices triggered by the Iran war, according to people familiar with the matter. The measures under consideration include tapping emergency stockpiles, suspending federal gas tax collections—an action that would require congressional approval—and involving the US Treasury Department in the oil futures market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously suggested the US could waive more Russian oil sanctions, after moving last week to temporarily allow Indian refiners to purchase more Russian oil.
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