00:00Iran said the world should get ready for oil to hit $200 a barrel as its forces attacked merchant ships
00:06on Wednesday in the blockaded Gulf.
00:08That included a Thai-flagged bulk carrier that was set ablaze, forcing the evacuation of the crew, with three people
00:15reported missing and believed trapped in the engine room.
00:18Iran also fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back, despite
00:24what the Pentagon has described as the most intense U.S.-Israeli strikes yet.
00:28Ibrahim Zulfaghari is a spokesperson for Iran's military command, who addressed the United States in his remarks.
00:34You will not be able to keep oil and energy prices artificially low through economic life support.
00:40As we have already warned, if the war spreads across the region, expect oil to reach $200 per barrel.
00:47Oil prices follow the level of security in the region, and the source of that insecurity is you.
00:53Oil prices that shot up earlier this week have eased and stock markets have rebounded,
00:57with investors betting for now that U.S. President Donald Trump will find a quick way to end the war
01:02he began alongside Israel.
01:03Trump, who has repeatedly tried to reassure markets this week that the campaign will end soon,
01:08has said there is practically nothing left to target in Iran.
01:11They've lost their navy, they've lost their air force.
01:14But so far, there has been no let-up on the ground, or any sign that ships can safely sail
01:19through the Strait of Hormuz.
01:20On Wednesday, Trump said oil companies should still be using the crucial waterway.
01:24Are you talking to the CEOs of various oil companies, encouraging them to use the Strait of Hormuz right now?
01:32Yeah, I think they should.
01:32I think they should. I think they should use the Strait of Hormuz.
01:35A fifth of the world's oil has been blockaded behind a narrow channel along the Iranian coast,
01:40in the worst disruption to energy supplies since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
01:45The International Energy Agency, made up of major oil-consuming nations,
01:49recommended releasing 400 million barrels from global strategic reserves to stabilize prices.
01:54Washington swiftly endorsed the move.
01:57IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said it was the biggest such intervention in its history.
02:02IEA countries will be making 400 million barrels of oil available.
02:08This is a major action aiming to elevate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets.
02:17But, to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas
02:25is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
02:31Oil prices, which shot up above $100 a barrel on Monday, have since settled around $90,
02:37suggesting investors are betting on a swift end to the war and reopening of the Strait.
02:41Iranian officials made clear on Wednesday they intended to impose a prolonged economic shock as the war carries on.
02:47After offices of a bank in Tehran were hit overnight,
02:50Iran's military said it would respond with attacks on banks that do business with the United States or Israel.
03:01Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:02Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:03Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:03Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:03Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:04Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:04Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
03:04Iran's military said it would respond to the U.S.
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