All posts tagged: iShares Global Energy ETF

Iran war hangs over Trump’s China trip: Analysis

Iran war hangs over Trump’s China trip: Analysis

Published by Sam Flores

As President Donald Trump prepares to head to China for crucial negotiations with the leader of the No. 2 global power, it is becoming clear that the political and economic damage unleashed by the Iran war can’t be easily left behind. Even if a deal to get oil tankers moving again were reached tomorrow — and there is little sign of that — Americans are facing the prospect of months or more of new inflation worries. The question now isn’t whether Trump will secure his war aims with dignity. It is whether his presidency can ever recover from the war’s body blow.  Trump is banking little political goodwill from the stock market that keeps grinding to records. The S&P 500 has risen 7.3% since Feb. 27, just before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Meanwhile Trump’s net approval rating has fallen to the lowest of his two terms, according to CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey. Stocks are rising on faith in artificial intelligence and traders’ well-earned sense that Trump will find a way to get out …

Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

Published by Sam Flores

The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran depends on the Strait of Hormuz being opened for ships “without limitation, including tolls,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday. President Donald Trump wants the strait, which has been effectively blocked by Iran during the war, opened up “immediately, without limitation,” Leavitt said at a press briefing. She was asked if Iran would cross a “red line” by charging ships to pass through the vital oil-shipping route, as it is reportedly planning to do. Trump’s “plain language” demanding the immediate reopening of the strait “should be taken at face value,” Leavitt replied. Iranian state news agency Fars reported earlier Wednesday that oil tanker traffic through the strait has been halted following an Israeli attack on Lebanon that has shaken the hours-old ceasefire. Leavitt called that reporting “false.” “This is a case of, what they’re saying publicly is different privately,” she said. “We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today, and I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait of …

Pakistan seeks 2-week Iran pause after Trump warns ‘whole civilization will die’

Pakistan seeks 2-week Iran pause after Trump warns ‘whole civilization will die’

Published by Sam Flores

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked President Donald Trump for a two-week extension of his threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran unless Tehran strikes a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Update: Trump suspends Iran attack for two weeks, subject to Hormuz Strait opening Sharif in an X post also asked Iran’s leadership to agree to open up the strait for two weeks “as a goodwill gesture.” “We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region,” Sharif wrote. The public plea from the leader of Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator between the warring powers, came hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to either cut a deal or face massive strikes on its civilian infrastructure — which could be considered a war crime. On Tuesday morning, Trump dramatically ramped up his threats, warning on Truth Social that “a whole …

Trump threatens Iran’s infrastructure as reports emerge of downed U.S. F-35

Trump threatens Iran’s infrastructure as reports emerge of downed U.S. F-35

Published by Sam Flores

Significant sections of the B1 Bridge are seen destroyed after an airstrike attributed to the United States and Israel targeted the site near Tehran, in Karaj, Iran, on April 03, 2026. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants, saying the “New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!” in a Truth Social post. Trump did not elaborate on what needed to be “done,” but said the U.S. “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran.” Hours later, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reportedly claimed that a U.S. F-35 fighter jet was shot down over central Iran. Images of debris posted on Telegram included a photo that appeared to show the words “U.S. Air Forces in Europe” on what looked like a plane’s tail section. The U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region, and Iranian authorities did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. Read more U.S.-Iran war news Trump’s latest threat …

Iran and Oman drafting protocol to ‘monitor’ Hormuz Strait traffic: IRNA

Iran and Oman drafting protocol to ‘monitor’ Hormuz Strait traffic: IRNA

Published by Sam Flores

Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Thursday morning, citing an official. Tanker traffic through the key oil-shipping route “should be supervised and coordinated” with the two countries, said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister of legal and international affairs, according to a translation of IRNA’s report. “Of course, these requirements will not mean restrictions, but rather to facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships that pass through this route,” Gharibabadi reportedly said. U.S. stock indexes, which were trading sharply lower Thursday morning after President Donald Trump signaled that the Iran war will continue for weeks to come, suddenly turned higher following IRNA’s report. Oil prices, which likewise had surged overnight, eased from their highs of the day on the Oman news, which offered hope that the Strait of Hormuz may be able to reopen in some capacity without requiring military force. The strait, a vital artery for much of the world’s oil transit, has been effectively …

Trump says Iran war nearly done: Speech recap

Trump says Iran war nearly done: Speech recap

Published by Sam Flores

Sen. Lindsey Graham says Trump gave a ‘compelling explanation’ about U.S. action against Iran Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on September 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said that President Trump gave a “compelling explanation” on why the U.S. had to act against Iran’s “evil regime.” Graham said in a post on X that it was “the best speech I could’ve hoped for,” adding that it informed Americans and the world that the U.S. is “2-3 weeks from reaching our military objectives, which is the destruction of Iran’s missile and nuclear weapon programs.” He said that “the most compelling and biggest takeaway of all” was that Trump’s declaration to use military force to destroy the Iranian regime’s economy, guaranteeing “they will never go back to their old ways.” Sen. Ted Cruz in his post on X said the U.S. was “on the cusp of ending Iran’s nuclear blackmail,” which makes America “much, much …

Trump’s Iran speech ignores risks of a return to the 1970s

Trump’s Iran speech ignores risks of a return to the 1970s

Published by Sam Flores

Demonstrators hold posters of Ayatollah Khomeini outside the American Embassy which is occupied by ‘students following the Imam Khomeini’s line on November 16, 1979 in Tehran, Iran. Kaveh Kazemi | Hulton Archive | Getty Images President Donald Trump is taking a triumphal tone as he plans to address the nation Wednesday night about the Iran war. But there is reason to worry that the conflict and its economic consequences for Americans may get worse before they get better. If so, Trump will struggle to shake off the damaging political legacy of the war. In that he would join a long line of U.S. presidents going back to the 1970s who have seen their tenures defined by energy crisis and inflation — the economic scourge Trump has called a “nation-buster.”  “The oil shock of the ’70s was planted in the maybe subterranean part of our brains,” said Jay Hakes, a presidential historian who led the U.S. Energy Information Administration in the 1990s during the Clinton administration.  “It was there for a long time because it was …

Iran president seeks ceasefire, U.S. wants Hormuz Strait open

Iran president seeks ceasefire, U.S. wants Hormuz Strait open

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran’s president has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire. But the U.S. will “consider” the offer only once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he wrote. The announcement came hours before Trump was set to deliver an “important update on Iran” in an address to the nation, according to the White House. The address is set for 9 p.m. ET. It was not immediately clear if Iran would confirm or reject Trump’s claim that Tehran’s “New Regime President” had asked for the ceasefire. The two sides have frequently contradicted each other’s claims about the existence and status of peace-deal talks since the war began on Feb. 28. It was also not clear if any ceasefire request was made directly to the U.S., as Trump’s post suggested, or if it came via an intermediary, such as Pakistan. And even if President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked …

U.S. to destroy Iran’s oil wells, Kharg Island if deal not reached

U.S. to destroy Iran’s oil wells, Kharg Island if deal not reached

Published by Sam Flores

Satellite view of Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran. Gallo Images | Gallo Images | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. will “completely” obliterate Iran’s electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz is not “immediately” reopened and a peace deal is not reached “shortly.” “The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched.”” His comments come as the Iran war enters its fifth week and …

Trump warns US could ‘take the oil in Iran’ as Mideast war escalates

Trump warns US could ‘take the oil in Iran’ as Mideast war escalates

Published by Sam Flores

Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf’s petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran’s Kharg Island. – | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said he could “take the oil in Iran” and seize Iran’s export hub of Kharg Island, as hostilities in the Middle East continued into its fifth week. Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that his “preference would be to take the oil,” comparing it to the U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this year where the U.S. effectively gained control of the Latin American country’s oil industry, following the capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has weighed sending ground forces to the Kharg Island, according to Reuters, with one of its sources warning or such an operation being “very risky.” Tehran has the ability …