US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering major new combat operations in Iran to break a deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz, even as his administration called on other countries to help reopen the waterway.
Worries that the conflict could resume drove benchmark oil prices above $126 a barrel, the highest in four years; fertilizer prices have doubled since February, and analysts told Semafor that the resulting food shortages and inflation could last months.
Iran’s own economy is under significant strain, the Institute for the Study of War said, with millions of jobs lost and a collapsing currency. The direct costs of the war are already high: The Pentagon said it had spent $25 billion so far.
