The jump of Olympian proportions follows reports of Donald Trump being ready to continue the blockade of Iranian ports for months.

The price of Brent crude oil rose to $130 on Thursday as US-Iran talks stalled and news emerged that US President Donald Trump may extend the blockade of Iranian ports.

It hit $130 for the first time since March 2022, when the Ukraine conflict escalated.

Prices later eased to $125.30. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil also rose 10.5% to $110.5 per barrel, as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to face Trump and Israel’s blockades.

On Wednesday, media reports, citing White House officials, said Trump ordered a plan to prolong the blockade of Iranian ports for months in another futile bid to pressure Tehran to consent to a more favorable peace deal.

The Iranian authorities insist that they will keep preventing vessels from the US and its allies from going through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for some 25% of global crude trade, for as long as the country is being harnessed.

Tehran has also warned that it is ready to launch unprecedented military action to lift the US blockade of its ports.

Meanwhile, Washington is vacating its military bases scattered throughout the region. Michael Walsh, an international journalist, says we are witnessing a transfer of American hegemony to the Global South.

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