President Donald Trump on Wednesday revealed that the United States has been extracting millions of barrels of oil from Iran, claiming the country was unaware of the operation until his public statement. Trump said the U.S. took out 22 Iranian ships late Tuesday night after destroying Iran's radar capabilities. The disclosure came amid escalating military tensions after Iran downed a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, prompting U.S. strikes on 20 Iranian targets including ground control stations and air defenses. Trump attributed current crude oil prices of $85 per barrel to the covert extraction operations, contrasting this with a hypothetical $250 price point. The statements were made during a White House press briefing as U.S. equities declined and crude oil futures rose over 3%.
Trump Warns U.S. Will Hit Iran Very Hard and Reiterates Deal Terms
"Do you know we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil. Nobody knows about it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran, until right now," Trump said while addressing reporters at the White House. He warned that the U.S. will hit Iran "very hard," while reiterating that his administration wants a deal that would work. "We'll see what happens, but we hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today... And we'll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to the deal, but they keep tapping us along," Trump said. He added that the U.S. proposal prevents Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon. "They should sign the deal, it's a good deal," he said. Trump stated that the U.S. and Iran were very close to a deal, but added that the Iranians keep "tapping" the United States. The remarks followed Trump's post on Truth Social earlier on Wednesday stating that Iran will have to "pay the price" for taking down the U.S. Apache helicopter.
Crude Oil Prices Rise Amid Middle East Tensions
Crude oil prices inched up on Wednesday amid rising tensions in the Middle East. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures expiring in July were up 3.17%, hovering around $91 a barrel. Brent crude futures expiring in August rose 2.73% to hover around $93.95 a barrel. The United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) was up about 3% at the time of writing, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) rose over 5%. U.S. equities continued to trade in the red on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell more than 700 points before recouping some of the losses to trade about 580 points lower. The S&P 500 index was down about 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 1.2%. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was down 0.91%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 1.35%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) declined 1.16%.
FAQ
What did Trump reveal about U.S. oil extraction from Iran?
Trump revealed on Wednesday that the United States has been extracting millions of barrels of oil from Iran and claimed Iran was unaware of the operation until his public statement. He said the U.S. took out 22 Iranian ships late Tuesday night after destroying Iran's radar capabilities.
Why did crude oil prices rise on Wednesday?
Crude oil prices rose amid escalating military tensions in the Middle East following Trump's statements and U.S. strikes on Iranian targets. WTI crude futures expiring in July were up 3.17% to around $91 a barrel, while Brent crude futures expiring in August rose 2.73% to around $93.95 a barrel.
What military actions did the U.S. take against Iran?
The U.S. launched strikes that took down 20 targets in Iran, including Iranian ground control stations, radar sites, and air defenses. This followed Iran downing a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump stated the U.S. took out 22 ships late Tuesday night.
