Oil reaches its highest price since March as Iran claims tanker strikes and Trump calls them fake
Brent crude hit $117 a barrel on Oct. 23. Trump says Iran is inventing attacks to push prices up before the midterms; Iran's claims have not been independently confirmed.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Oct. 22 that it struck four vessels carrying out ship to ship oil transfers in the Persian Gulf, saying "All four ships were hit simultaneously and are burning," CBS News reported. Iranian state television reported seven tankers damaged in the Strait of Hormuz, which would be the most in one day since the war began on Feb. 28 if confirmed, the Associated Press reported. CBS said none of the Oct. 22 claims had been independently confirmed.
Brent crude rose 3.2% to $112.27 a barrel on Oct. 22, the AP reported. On Oct. 23 Brent reached $117, up 3.5% and its highest since March, after trading under $97 at the start of October, CBS News reported. The Dow was down about 550 points by late morning Oct. 23, according to CBS.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran is "making up fake hits, mines, and everything else" to drive up oil prices before the midterm election, and said more oil is moving through Hormuz than before the war, CBS and Fox News reported. Fox reported that at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, Trump said prices would fall once the war ends, acknowledged the war carries "a price to pay" before the midterms, and invoked Defense Production Act powers to boost domestic oil production. The Guard warned the conflict "will extend" to U.S. bases if U.S. forces keep escorting ships, Fox reported.
U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz told the Financial Times the war could last another year and that the Navy can keep up its blockade of Iranian ports "for the foreseeable future," CBS reported. U.S. Central Command said the blockade, reinstated on July 14, has kept at least $25 billion in Iranian crude off the market, CBS and Fox reported. Foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany met counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt in Istanbul on Oct. 23 to discuss Hormuz shipping, according to CBS.
What is established
- Brent crude hit $117 a barrel on Oct. 23, its highest since March, CBS reported.
- Iran's claims of hits on as many as seven tankers have not been independently confirmed.
- The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports passed 100 days on Oct. 22.
- The war with Iran began on Feb. 28.
What each side says
Iran is "making up fake hits, mines" to raise oil prices before the midterms, and more oil is moving through Hormuz than before the war.
It hit vessels doing ship to ship oil transfers and warns the fight "will extend" to U.S. bases if U.S. escorts continue.
How it was covered
Left 2 reports
CBS led with Trump's claim that the strikes are fake, set beside the price jump and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Center 1 report
AP led with the market reaction, the oil price and the unverified count of damaged tankers.
Right 1 report
Fox led with Iran's warning to U.S. forces and carried voters saying they would accept higher gas prices to stop an Iranian nuclear weapon.