Iran Threatens New Targets; US Works to Tame Oil Prices

Earlier on Thursday, Mojtaba Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would seek to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. In his first public comments since succeeding his father, he added that Tehran will look to open other fronts in the war if the US and Israel persist with their attacks.

Oil prices rose more than 10% on Thursday with Brent crude once again briefly topping $100 a barrel as traders generally viewed the Trump administration’s efforts to lower energy costs as mostly temporary. Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace joins to discuss. Iran’s new supreme leader said the Strait of Hormuz should remain shut and Tehran will look to open other fronts in the war if the US and Israel persist with their attacks.

In his first public comments since succeeding his father at the weekend, Mojtaba Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would seek to ensure the critical waterway for oil and gas stays effectively closed — maintaining a choke on supplies that’s triggered a surge in global energy prices.

His statement — published on state media on Thursday — came as US President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons and being a threat to the Middle East is “of far greater interest and importance to me” than the cost of oil.

The defiance shown by both leaders indicates that the war in the Middle East isn’t close to a de-escalation after almost two weeks of fighting. Israel launched a fresh wave of large-scale strikes across Iran on Thursday, “Studies have been conducted into opening other fronts where the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable, and their activation will take place if the state of war persists,” Khamenei said.

The new supreme leader, a 56-year-old hardline cleric, was appointed after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in early US and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Dubai authorities reported at least two strikes Thursday morning after residents received missile alerts overnight, underlining the threat to the financial and tourist hub long seen as a safe haven. Kuwait reported several drones fired at its international airport, resulting in material damages.

Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel as the warring sides dug in. It’s up around 65% this year.

The US “is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump said in a social-media post. “BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World.” while the Islamic Republic stepped up attacks on Dubai and shipping assets.  US officials told lawmakers that the first six days of the war with Iran cost more than $11.3 billion, a person familiar with the matter said, the most detailed assessment yet of the expense of the campaign.

The US and Israel have been attacking Iran with airstrikes since Feb. 28, triggering a response from Tehran that’s seen missiles and drones fired across the Gulf. Besides jolting energy and financial markets, the conflict has resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and disrupted the flows of fertilizer and other goods.

Read More: Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts US Military Under Strain

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military is preparing to expand its operations in Lebanon, where it’s been fighting a parallel campaign against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia.

Around 2,500 people have been killed across the Middle East since the war began, official tolls and those from non-government agencies show.

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