All posts tagged: LP

Gas prices may not drop under  until next year: Wright

Gas prices may not drop under $3 until next year: Wright

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright appears before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy hearing on the Trump administration’s 2027 budget request for the Department of Energy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2026. Nathan Howard | Reuters Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said gas prices may not drop below $3 until next year, as the U.S. war with Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to wreak havoc on energy markets. “I don’t know, that could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year, but prices have likely peaked,” Wright said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked when prices at the pump will return to pre-war figures. “Certainly with a resolution of this conflict, energy prices will go down.” Wright added that “under $3 a gallon is pretty tremendous in inflation-adjusted terms. We had that in the Trump administration, but we hadn’t seen that in inflation-adjusted terms for quite a long time. We’ll get back there for sure.” Gas prices have spiked since the …

Trump’s Hormuz blockade tests U.S. ties with China and India

Trump’s Hormuz blockade tests U.S. ties with China and India

The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is adding strain to Washington’s relations with China and India, as Beijing hardens its rhetoric and New Delhi faces rising energy risks. Getty The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is not only squeezing Iran but also ratcheting up pressure on two of its most consequential relationships in Asia — India and China. With roughly 98% of Iranian oil exports bound for China, and a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping weeks away, Washington’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran risks destabilizing the fragile detente that the administration has carefully cultivated with Beijing. India, with its complicated ties with the U.S., is increasingly finding U.S. policy at odds with its economic interests — most acutely in the energy shock now rippling through its economy. Trump is scheduled to visit China in mid-May, and the administration signaled repeatedly in recent weeks that it wants the bilateral relationship stable enough to keep the high-stakes meeting on track. “The Iran conflict, particularly the blockade, may upend …

Trump is blockading Iranian Persian Gulf ports. What does that mean?

Trump is blockading Iranian Persian Gulf ports. What does that mean?

A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. Sahar Al Attar | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Monday rolled out a “blockade” of access to Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf to great fanfare, announcing his intentions on social media and then proclaiming it in motion at his appointed deadline. But what exactly does choking access to the region’s oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz mean and what does Trump want to accomplish? A former Biden-era Pentagon official said the U.S. is trying to turn the tables on Iran, which has blockaded the strait for weeks during the U.S.-Israeli war with the country, creating a bottleneck that roiled global markets and strained the economy. Experts say the goal of the blockade is to convince Iran’s leaders to back down and acquiesce to U.S. demands to end the war and restore freedom of navigation to the strait. “The administration seems to be …

U.S. has violated ceasefire agreement, Iran parliamentary speaker says

U.S. has violated ceasefire agreement, Iran parliamentary speaker says

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. on Wednesday of violating the two-week ceasefire agreement. “The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments — a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on social media. Three parts of Iran’s 10-point ceasefire proposal have been violated, Ghalibaf said. The violations are Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace, and the denial of the Islamic Republic’s right to enrich uranium, he said. “In such situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable,” the parliamentary speaker said. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran’s proposal was a workable basis for negotiations. Vice President JD Vance addressed Ghalibaf’s allegations while traveling in Hungary on Wednesday. “Ceasefires are always messy,” Vance said in response to the alleged drone incursion into Iran’s airspace. The vice president said the U.S. position is that Iran cannot enrich uranium. The ceasefire extending to Lebanon was never part …

Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

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 …

Ritchie Torres calls for probe into trades ahead of March Iran news

Ritchie Torres calls for probe into trades ahead of March Iran news

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York, during an interview in New York, Jan. 28, 2025. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., on Wednesday called for a federal probe into suspicious trading activity in oil and equity futures markets just before President Donald Trump’s announcement of a five-day delay in attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure in March. In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig first obtained by CNBC, Torres cites reports on a series of irregular and well-timed trades in the minutes ahead of Trump calling a pause on hostilities. “What kind of trader would make a massive trade at 6:49 a.m., 15 minutes before a market-moving presidential announcement with billions of dollars at stake and without a hedge?” Torres said in an interview Wednesday. “The only plausible answer to that question is an insider trader. Any other alternative is a statistical impossibility.” More than $500 million in crude oil futures trades were made …

Spain won’t applaud those who set the world on fire

Spain won’t applaud those who set the world on fire

Spain’s Prime minister Pedro Sanchez addresses parliament over the war in the Middle East at the congress in Madrid on March 25, 2026. Thomas Coex | Afp | Getty Images Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday joined a chorus of world leaders welcoming the announcement of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire but issued a thinly veiled swipe at the Trump administration for having initiated the hostilities. “Ceasefires are always good news. Especially if they lead to a just and lasting peace. But this momentary relief cannot make us forget the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost,” Sánchez said in a social media post, according to a translation. “The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” Sánchez, who has emerged as one of the European Union’s leading critics of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran, called for “diplomacy, international law and PEACE” to prevail. His comments come shortly after the U.S. president said he had agreed to suspend attacks on Iranian infrastructure …

Trump faces calls for removal over threats to wipe out Iran civilization

Trump faces calls for removal over threats to wipe out Iran civilization

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks to the media outside the U.S. Capitol after the House of Representatives voted to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, in Washington, July 3, 2025. Ken Cedeno | Reuters The reticence expressed by Democrats about removing President Donald Trump from office — even after he ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and attacked Iran without seeking congressional approval — quickly fell away after his latest threat to Iran. The president’s Tuesday morning Truth Social post, which threatened “a whole civilization will die tonight” and raised the specter of nuclear war, began a chorus of calls either for Trump’s impeachment or for his removal via the invocation of the 25th Amendment. On Tuesday evening, Trump and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire. “This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., posted to X on Tuesday. “To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. …

Trump-Iran agree to two-week ceasefire, plan to open Strait of Hormuz

Trump-Iran agree to two-week ceasefire, plan to open Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. Alex Brandon | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he agreed to suspend planned attacks on Iranian infrastructure for two weeks, backing off his shocking threats to imminently order the destruction of Iran’s “whole civilization.” The move, more than five weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched the war, was “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote on Truth Social. The decision was “based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan,” Trump wrote. “This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” he declared. Oil prices plunged as much as 16% following the announcement, while U.S. stock futures shot up. Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a separate statement that ships will be able to safely pass through the strait for the two-week interval “via …

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’

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 …