Iranupdated 46m ago2 min read
Mike Waltz Says U.S.-Iran War Could Last Another Year as Brent Tops $117
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Mike Waltz says the U.S.-Iran war could last another year. Brent crude rose to about $116–$117 a barrel amid Middle East tensions.
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Plots and oil spikes
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Friday that Iran has "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel" abroad, with plots to kill Americans reaching "advanced stages" in the Middle East and other countries.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the Financial Times that the war with Iran could last another year, while Waltz said he hopes the Iranians "come to the table" before that.
Brent crude oil briefly crossed $117 a barrel Friday, its highest level during the war, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have disabled seven tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump accused Iran Thursday of lying about attacks on ships to drive up oil prices before the U.S. midterm elections.
The U.S. State Department said it will reduce staffing at four U.S. embassies in the Middle East, affecting embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates while saying the embassies will remain open.
Tankers, reserves, and risk
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two tankers were “set ablaze” after hitting mines at what it called an illegal crossing point in the strait, and the IRGC later said it hit seven more tankers although Washington dismissed the claim.
Al Jazeera reported that Brent crude rose by more than $2 to $110.85 a barrel on Wednesday, close to a five-month peak, as attacks on tankers in and around the Strait of Hormuz mount.
Al Jazeera said the IEA’s 32 members agreed to make 400 million barrels available from emergency supplies on March 11, days after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to 283 million barrels, its lowest level since October 1982, according to the US Department of Energy as cited by Al Jazeera.
Aaron Kildow told Al Jazeera that leaves only about 400 million barrels of usable reserves worldwide, excluding China’s stockpile, which is unlikely to be exported.
Diplomacy and preparation
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will travel to Moscow next week for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to a report by Reuters. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Tehran earlier this week as the two sides continue to strengthen relations, and Araghchi said Russia and Iran were closer than ever. The CBS News memo obtained by CBS News said, "The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages" in both the Middle East and certain other countries.
The Guardian said oil hit its highest level in more than six months as fears of fresh escalation gripped energy markets, with Brent crude rising by about 3.5% on Friday to pass $117 a barrel at one point. Mike Waltz told the Financial Times that he hopes the Iranians "come to the table" before the war lasts another year, as the U.S. and Israel weigh renewed strikes after the midterm elections.