Overview
- President Donald Trump gave Iran 48 hours to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on power plants, with the deadline expiring Monday night in Washington.
- Iran warned it would target energy and desalination infrastructure linked to the U.S. and regional allies and said the strait would remain closed if its grid is attacked.
- Brent crude hovered around $110–$113 and WTI near $98 in volatile trading, with the Brent–WTI spread widening to multi‑year highs as traders priced a prolonged seaborne supply shock.
- IEA chief Fatih Birol called the situation very severe, noting a record 400 million‑barrel stock release is being deployed, while industry figures said effective closures have removed roughly one‑fifth of global oil flows.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer convenes a Cobra meeting on the economic and energy‑security fallout, as officials caution against panic buying and policy ideas such as targeted support and temporary profit caps gain traction.