Oil prices surged past $105 a barrel Thursday as a report that President Donald Trump is considering another round of strikes on Iran rattled markets less than a month before the midterm elections.
The jump in Brent crude put energy costs back in the spotlight as Republicans battle to defend their narrow House and Senate majorities. Trump has said Americans should expect relief after the vote.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he told reporters last month.
Now, the White House has directed the Pentagon to prepare options for attacks that could come before Election Day, two administration officials told The Atlantic.
U.S. Central Command is developing those options, according to the magazine. The potential targets and scope remain under discussion, and Trump has not decided whether to authorize the strikes.
The deliberations mark a possible shift for the president, who rejected Iran’s offer of a seven-day ceasefire late last month and had been expected to postpone further bombing until after the elections.
One Republican familiar with the discussions described the political argument for renewed military action.
“It would make the president look like he got a win,” the Republican told The Atlantic.
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But officials favoring additional strikes have privately acknowledged that another attack would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report. The Persian Gulf passage carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Renewed attacks also would be unlikely to secure a diplomatic breakthrough or lower gasoline prices before Americans cast their ballots, the magazine reported.
The standoff has resisted months of negotiations. Washington and Tehran remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program and control of the strait, with the latest Qatari-mediated talks producing little progress.
Iran continues to demand a return to a June memorandum that briefly halted the fighting. That ceasefire unraveled within weeks after Washington accused Tehran of attacking U.S.-backed oil vessels in violation of the agreement.
American forces subsequently struck Iranian radar installations, military positions and vessels along the Persian Gulf.
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For Republicans, another escalation would come as voters are already blaming the conflict for higher energy bills.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this summer found that about 30% of voters approved of Trump’s handling of Iran. A separate Politico poll found that 59% of Trump voters attributed rising energy costs to the war.
Meanwhile, fighting continued to spread beyond Iran.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed Thursday that they had struck Saudi Arabia’s main airport for the third time this week. Repeated explosions in Riyadh prompted orders for diplomats to shelter inside their embassies, while at least one international school moved children into a basement.
Separately, newly surfaced footage showed an attack on a major U.S. base in Kuwait at the start of the war seven months ago. The footage showed Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, along with aircraft witnesses identified as F-5 fighter jets.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
