Oil jumps to highest price since 2022 after report Trump to be briefed on new Iran options

Axios reported that US Central Command has prepared a plan for a wave of "short and powerful" strikes on Iran. Oil jumps to highest price since 2022 after report Trump to be briefed on new Iran options Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A female petrol station attendant refuels a white car Oil prices jumped on Thursday in Asia after a report that the US military is set to brief President Donald Trump on new plans for potential action in the Iran war. US Central Command has prepared a plan for a wave of "short and powerful" strikes on Iran in a move aimed to break the deadlock in negotiations with Tehran, news site Axios reported. The BBC has contacted US Central Command and the White House for comment. Brent crude rose by almost 7% to more than $126 (£94) a barrel, the highest level since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Energy prices have risen this week as peace talks appeared to have stalled, with the key Strait of Hormuz waterway remaining effectively closed. The Axios report cited anonymous sources, saying the proposed wave of strikes would be likely to include infrastructure targets. Another plan focused on taking over part of the Strait of Hormuz so that it can be reopened for commercial shipping, Axios reported, adding that doing so could involve troops on the ground. US-traded West Texas Intermediate crude oil also rose, up by 2.3% at around $109 a barrel. The current Brent futures contract for June delivery is due to expire on Thursday. The more active July contract was up by about 2% at around $113 in morning trade in Asia. Futures contracts are agreements to buy or sell an asset at a set date. Oil traders have reacted quickly to the possibility of further military action in the Gulf, economics professor Yeow Hwee Chua from the Nanyang Technological University said. Even a small chance of the conflict escalating could have "outsized implications" on global energy supplies, he added. The US said it would blockade Iranian ports for as long as Tehran continues to threaten vessels that try to use the Strait of Hormuz, severely disrupting global energy shipments. Iran retaliated against US-Israeli airstrikes by threatening to attack ships in the waterway, through which about a fifth of the world's energy usually passes. Oil prices surged by 6% on Wednesday following reports that Washington is preparing for an "extended" blockade of Iran. following reports that Washington is preparing for an "extended" blockade of Iran. The BBC also understands that energy executives met Trump on Tuesday to discuss ways to limit the impact of the war on US consumers, fuelling concerns in the market about an extended disruption to energy supplies. "The big question in my mind is how long the Trump administration can stand the economic heat," Will Walker-Arnott, investment manager at Raymond James, told the BBC's Today programme. "People are really beginning to worry about the inflationary impact coming through the rise in the oil price", he added. The family dynasty behind Samsung is so complicated it regularly makes headline news in South Korea. Marine farmer Suzie Flores also hopes the crop can revitalise the US's small fishing towns. President Trump said the US had cancelled plans to send a team to Pakistan for negotiations. Phillips 66 has hired a number of former workers at the Lindsey Oil Refinery after buying the site. Before the fragile ceasefire in the region, this was one of the most heavily targeted US and UK military bases in the Middle East. The price of crude oil has swung sharply as uncertainty over the war in the Middle East continues. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth sparred with Democratic lawmakers during a nearly six-hour-long hearing, in his first time facing questions under oath since the start of the Iran war. The BBC takes a look in charts at what the UAE's departure could mean for the oil cartel and more widely.