Iran says oil blockade will continue until attacks end, Trump threatens to escalate strikes

Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared on Tuesday that they would prevent any oil shipments from the Middle East if attacks from the U.S. and Israel persist. This statement led President Donald Trump to warn that the U.S. would respond more forcefully if Iran blocked oil exports from this critical energy area. Despite the rising tensions, crude oil prices fell sharply, while global stock markets saw gains after Trump expressed optimism about quickly ending the fighting, even after Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, a move seen as defiance. On Monday, Trump stated that the U.S. had caused significant damage to Iran's military and expected the conflict to resolve well before the four-week period he initially suggested, although he did not specify what "victory" would entail. Israel aims to dismantle Iran's clerical regime, while U.S. officials focus on eliminating Iran's missile capabilities and nuclear program, with Trump asserting that the war can only conclude with a compliant Iranian government. Since the U.S. and Israel began extensive air and missile attacks on Iran at the end of February, at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have lost their lives, and many more have been injured, according to Iran’s U.N. ambassador. Trump cautioned that U.S. military actions could escalate significantly if Iran attempted to obstruct tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. "We will strike them so hard that it will be impossible for them or anyone supporting them to recover that part of the world," Trump stated during a press conference on Monday. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps emphasized that they would control the oil situation and determine when the conflict would end if attacks by the U.S. and Israel continued.