President Donald Trump said he was considering waiving oil-related sanctions, deploying the U.S. Navy to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, and predicted the war with Iran would wrap up soon as economic and political pressure mounted around him on Monday.
The announcement came during a news conference at his Doral, Florida resort, where Trump acknowledged that oil prices had risen artificially because of what he called an excursion and made clear his administration was actively looking at ways to bring them back down. He said the conflict was running ahead of schedule but stopped short of predicting it would be over within the week.
Trump indicated he had discussed the possibility of easing oil-related sanctions during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day. Russia has faced sweeping restrictions on its energy sector, including a price cap on its crude and sanctions targeting its two largest oil producers, as part of a broader Western strategy to limit its revenue from the Ukraine war.
The economic squeeze tightens
The war has unleashed a severe disruption across global energy markets. The near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which under normal conditions carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, has forced Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq to all cut production as storage fills and export routes stay blocked.
U.S. gasoline prices have climbed to their highest point since August 2024 and Trump, already dealing with inflation concerns ahead of November midterm elections, is feeling the heat. On Sunday he had described $100 oil as a small price to pay, but by Monday his tone had shifted toward finding solutions.
Among the options his team has been weighing are coordinated releases of emergency stockpiles, a pause on federal gasoline tax collections and possible Treasury Department involvement in oil futures markets. The Treasury secretary had previously suggested further Russian oil sanctions could be eased, after the administration last week cleared a path for Indian refiners to temporarily purchase more Russian crude.
A war with no clear finish line
Trump painted an aggressive picture of the military campaign, claiming the U.S. had struck thousands of targets inside Iran, that the country’s missile capability had been reduced dramatically and that drone launches from Iranian territory had fallen by more than 80%. He described U.S. military objectives as largely complete.
Yet in the same breath he vowed the U.S. would not relent until a total and decisive victory was achieved. He warned that if Iran disrupted oil flows through the strait, the response would be far more intense than anything the country had experienced so far. He also suggested a prolonged conflict could bring strikes on additional infrastructure including power generation facilities.
The mixed signals reflect the genuine tension Trump faces in reconciling promises of overwhelming military victory with the economic consequences of an open-ended war.
The wider conflict expands
The war continues to pull in neighboring actors. NATO intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran toward Turkey on Monday, the second such incident, raising the possibility that the military alliance could become more directly entangled. Hezbollah fired artillery at Syrian army positions near Damascus, according to Syrian state media, while Israeli forces continued operations in southern Lebanon targeting the Iran-aligned group.
A new leadership question has also emerged inside Iran. The son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed when U.S. and Israeli strikes began on Feb. 28, secured a decisive vote in Iran’s Assembly of Experts to become the country’s new supreme leader. The 56-year-old has deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is widely expected to maintain the country’s current course in the conflict.
Trump expressed displeasure at the development and called on Iran to install a leader capable of finding a peaceful path forward.
Markets swing wildly but find some footing
U.S. oil futures briefly surged above $119 a barrel during Monday’s session before falling below $90 after settlement, one of the most volatile single-day swings on record. Markets calmed somewhat after Group of Seven finance ministers signaled readiness to support global energy supply, including through potential reserve releases. France, which currently holds the G-7 presidency, noted the group had not yet reached an agreement to tap emergency supplies but was watching the situation closely.
The human toll of the conflict continues to grow. The U.S. reported its seventh military casualty on Sunday. More than 1,300 Iranians have died according to an official count that has not been updated in several days, while Lebanon’s health ministry reported nearly 500 deaths. Casualties have also been recorded in the UAE and several other Gulf states.
