Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday as US and Iranian military forces traded a second round of attacks around the Persian Gulf. Choppy trading in stocks and bonds reflected anxiety among investors about the effects of the war.
President Trump said the latest strikes, which targeted about 90 sites along Iran’s coast, were “retaliation” for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for the region’s energy exports. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator in peace talks, said the strait “will only open under Iranian arrangements, not US threats.”
The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, recently urged shipowners and operators to avoid sending their ships through the strait. That would set back the recovery in shipping traffic since a cease-fire agreement between the United States and Iran was signed last month. Mr. Trump said Wednesday he believed the three-week-old deal was “over,” though he later suggested Iran was open to striking a deal. Iran has said nothing about new talks.
