The Group of Seven said Monday it would tap strategic oil reserves if necessary after oil prices surged above $100 per barrel, heaping pressure on President Trump to address the economic fallout from the U.S. war with Iran.
Mr. Trump managed to tamp down some of those concerns by suggesting that the U.S. was way ahead of schedule in its war aims.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force,” Mr. Trump told CBS News.
His comments sparked a rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 239 points higher, or 0.5%, after a multiday sell-off sparked by concerns about soaring oil prices.
Tehran gave no signs that it was backing down in the war or that oil tankers could resume safely transiting a key shipping lane bordering Iran.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the G7, a bloc of major economies that includes the U.S., considered tapping emergency oil supplies but added, “We’re not there yet.
“What we’ve agreed upon is to use any necessary tools, if need be, to stabilize the market, including the potential release of necessary stockpiles,” Mr. Lescure told reporters in Brussels.
Mr. Trump hasn’t spoken publicly about tapping the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Asked Monday about the possibility, the White House simply referred a reporter to the G7 statement.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York, said Mr. Trump should not wait any longer.
“Inflation was already on the rise, and Trump’s war just made it much, much worse,” Mr. Schumer said late Monday. “That’s why I am calling on President Trump to immediately release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help bring prices down.”
Markets had a topsy-turvy day after West Texas Intermediate crude surged to nearly $120 in overnight trading before easing below the $100 threshold. The price of Brent crude, an international benchmark, followed a similar pattern and settled below $100.
The surge was notable because prices had not exceeded the $100 threshold since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is about $3.48, up from less than $3 a week ago. Rising gas prices threaten to become a political liability for Mr. Trump in a midterm election cycle dominated by affordability concerns.
Mr. Trump said surging fuel prices would be a short-term problem and a worthwhile sacrifice, as the war in Iran raises concerns about energy supply.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, adding in all caps: “Only fools would think differently!”
Mr. Trump ordered joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran on Feb. 28. He said Tehran did not agree to American demands during negotiations over the Islamic republic’s nuclear ambitions, missile programs and support for terrorist proxies in the Middle East.
Iran retaliated with strikes on oil-rich Persian Gulf states and clamped down on traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea channel for oil tankers.
Roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply travels through the strait, so restrictions have wide consequences.
Also, “Iran has expanded the scale of its attacks, which now include vital energy infrastructure in the Gulf states — something that was largely considered to be off the table in the past,” said Caleb Jasso, a senior policy adviser at the Institute for Energy Research.
“This shift in strategy can be seen by its strikes on refineries in Saudi Arabia and as recently as Bahrain, which will directly affect oil supply as countries in the region begin halting production and export due to the ongoing threat of Iranian attacks on critical infrastructure that was historically left alone,” he said.
Senior Iranian clerics selected Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader. He is the second-eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes. Mr. Trump had called him an “unacceptable” choice, raising fears that the conflict would deepen.
Mr. Trump, speaking to a GOP retreat in Florida on Monday, called the war a “short-term excursion” but also said he planned to meet all his objectives.
“We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated,” he said.
Mr. Trump threatened to pummel Iran if it clamps down on the Strait of Hormuz or further constrains the oil supply.
“If Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much larger level,” Mr. Trump said during a press conference. “They better not play that game.”
Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi recently told the Financial Times that oil prices could surge to $150 per barrel if traffic through the strait does not resume.
Last week, the Trump administration announced a reinsurance program for ships concerned about potential losses in the Middle East. Mr. Trump said the U.S. Navy might need to escort ships through the strait.
Mr. Trump has not said whether he plans to seize Iranian oil as part of the war. In January, he took joint control of Venezuela’s oil reserves after the raid to capture President Nicolas Maduro.
“You look at Venezuela,” Mr. Trump told NBC News. “People have thought about it, but it’s too soon to talk about that.”
American farmers, a key Republican political bloc, warned Mr. Trump that the war threatened to worsen their shaky financial prospects. For instance, some of the global supply of fertilizer flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The recent energy production halts in the Middle East will affect the price and availability of many downstream products farmers depend upon,” the American Farm Bureau said in a letter to Mr. Trump. “These supply chain shocks are expected to drive already record-high input prices even higher at a time when farm margins are already extremely tight and many farmers are underwater.”
Democrats are trying to make the situation a political liability ahead of the November midterm elections.
“Working families are scraping the bottom of their bank accounts just to afford basic necessities, from gas to groceries to health care, and the economy is shedding jobs at [a] record pace,” said Kendall Witmer, director of the Democratic National Committee Rapid Response. “But Trump is only focused on a deadly and costly war with Iran that Americans don’t support.”
Also Monday, congressional Democrats chastised the administration for easing sanctions on Russian oil. The move allowed Indian refiners to resume purchases.
“Your recent decision to provide a 30-day waiver is dangerous, self-defeating and indefensible,” Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Rep. Sam Liccardo of California wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Democrats pointed to reports that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence on U.S. troop locations.
“This waiver,” the lawmakers wrote, “constitutes an inexplicable act of material benefit to the enemy.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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