US, Iran Threaten More Energy Strikes As Fuel Prices Rise. What You Should Know
President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s energy industry if the critical Strait of Hormuz is not opened, prompting Iran to respond with its own threats of retaliation as the war’s energy crisis escalates.
The president took to social media to press the Middle Eastern nation over the global shipping route, which Iran has effectively blocked since the US-Israeli strike on Feb. 28. It is one of the world’s most important oil export hubs and ships about 20% of the world’s oil production every year.
“If Iran DOES FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point, the United States of America will strike and destroy their POWER VACUUMS, STARTING VERY BIG FIRST!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly before 8 pm on Saturday, March 21.
In response, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said that if the United States strikes Iran’s power plants, Iran will destroy important infrastructure and oil resources in the region “irreversibly.” In his March 22 letter to X, Qalibaf also threatened that oil prices “will remain high for a long time.”
Iran Threatens Tit-for-Tat Strikes Amid Energy Crisis
As the US-Israeli war with Iran enters its fourth week, economic and oil-related consequences continue to wreak havoc on global and domestic markets. The average US gasoline price on Sunday, March 22 hit $3.94 per liter, compared to $2.98 per liter two days before the war began.
While consumers battled the dollar’s nearly three-week high, the United States, Israel and Iran have entered a new phase in the ongoing war, in which oil and gas have become key targets for both sides.
Israel’s March 19 attack on Iran’s largest gas field, South Pars, led to Iranian retaliatory strikes in the US Gulf states. Hours after the South Pars attack, Iran attacked oil refineries in Kuwait and damaged Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas production facility, Ras Laffan.
More than 2,000 Killed in the Ongoing War
While the warring countries try to threaten new balances of energy and oil, Lebanon continues to have the second highest number of deaths in the war, after Iran. In total, more than 2,000 people in many countries have died in the conflict.
Thirteen US service members were killed, and the Pentagon said last week that the number of US soldiers injured in the Iran war had risen to 200.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people, including about 120 children, 80 women and 40 medical workers, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The United Nations reported on March 21 that 2,584 people had been injured in Lebanon since March 2, when the Iran-linked militant group Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel over the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In Iran, the number of casualties varies.
The US-based rights group HRANA said on March 21 that 3,230 people had been killed, including 1,406 civilians, and at least 210 children.
Reuters reported that the latest figures from Iranian state media put the death toll at 1,270, while Iran’s ambassador to the UN said on March 6 that at least 1,332 people had been killed since the war began.
Elsewhere in the region, Reuters reported that authorities confirmed that 60 people were killed in Iraq, 15 civilians and two soldiers were killed in Israel, eight people died in the United Arab Emirates and 6 in Kuwait. Two were killed in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, Reuters reported, and four people were killed in Syria.
Democrats Hammer Administration Over Spending
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on March 22 that the United States “has a lot of money to fund this war,” as Congress considers an expected request of 200 billion dollars from the Pentagon.
Bessent called the question “extraordinary” and ruled against any tax increase to finance the war. When asked if it would be over soon, Bessent responded by telling host Kristen Welker that “sometimes you have to step up to the breaking point.”
Sen. Chris Murphy responded to Bessent’s comments on the same show, suggesting that Democrats may try to use the Pentagon’s expected request for billions in war money to pressure the administration to end the conflict.
“We have to end this war,” Murphy said. “The only way you’re going to get prices down here in the United States, the only way you’re going to bring peace to the region, is to end this war.”
The funding in question is facing strong opposition in Congress, with Democrats and some Republicans questioning the need after last year’s massive defense budget. Many Democrats have also expressed strong opposition to the US-Israeli joint war since it began, throwing many obstacles in the way of the Pentagon’s request.
Credit: Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a political reporter for USA TODAY. You can find him at [email protected] and X @KathrynPlmr. Subscribe to his daily political newsletter here.
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: US, Iran threaten more energy strikes as fuel prices rise. What you should know
Reporting by Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
