The Price Of Oil Skyrockets And Stock Prices Crash After Trump Declares That The Ceasefire With Iran Is Over

A lot can happen in 48 hours. Just two days ago, things were relatively calm in the Middle East and global financial markets were humming along. But now everything has changed. Just like that, the ceasefire is over, the price of oil is soaring and stock prices are plummeting. It appears that all-out war in the Middle East is the scenario that we are now facing, and that has all sorts of crazy implications. I cannot even begin to describe how serious this is. The possibility of a peace agreement kept both sides from really pushing things over the edge for a long time. Now that there is no longer any hope for peace, events could spiral out of control very quickly.

The Iranians never should have started attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz again.

That was such a foolish thing for them to do.

Everyone knew that this would provoke a very strong response from the United States, and that is precisely what occurred.

After the U.S. military hit more than 80 targets in Iran, the Iranians struck back by targeting U.S. facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait…

US Central Command said they struck over 80 targets as ‘punishment’ for three tankers coming under fire from the regime. Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.

Many were hoping that things would calm down after this exchange, but that obviously did not happen.

In fact, President Trump just publicly declared that the ceasefire with Iran is over…

Trump, asked by reporters about the ceasefire, had said “for me, I think it’s over.”

He then added: “It’s just a waste of time dealing with them.” Along with his comments about Iran, Trump repeated his complaints he had made previously about NATO at the alliance summit for not helping the U.S. in the Iran war.

Trump also accused Tehran of misusing the recent period of funeral ceremonies and mourning for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khameini, who was killed in U.S.-led strikes on February 28.

“They asked for a timeout, they wanted to go to the funeral of Khamenei and I said give it to them, and they start shooting missiles,” Trump said.

But that wasn’t all that Trump said.

He also warned that “we’re going to hit them hard again tonight”…

Speaking to reporters at a NATO summit in Turkey, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Trump said the U.S. would probably hit Iran with a deluge of strikes again Wednesday evening.

“They are behaving very badly, as they have for 47 years,” he said, adding that the U.S. hit Iran “hard last night” after Iran launched “a couple of drones and one rocket” at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“And so we hit them very hard last night,” he said. “Very, very hard. Probably hit them hard again tonight. I’ll give them a little warning, we’re going to hit them hard again tonight.”

The war is back on, and I fully expect it to escalate to an entirely new level.

In response to Trump’s comments, the Iranians have declared that the “Memorandum of Understanding” is dead…

Wow.

I was quite stunned when I first read that.

In addition, the Iranians are threatening to immediately halt all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. conducts more strikes…

Iran will “immediately” close the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic if the country is attacked again, the state-owned Press TV network said Wednesday, quoting an unnamed regime source. The report said Iran would retaliate for any U.S. strikes by attacking twice as many targets.

I will be watching what the Iranians do tonight very closely.

An IRGC spokesperson has ominously warned that “the next move will disregard any red lines”…

If the Iranians target key energy production facilities throughout the Persian Gulf region, they could do an immense amount of damage.

Fully rebuilding and repairing the facilities that Iran already hit earlier in the year will take years, but most oil and natural gas facilities in the region are still operational.

If Iran was able to take out a significant portion of the oil and natural gas facilities that are still operational, it would plunge the world into a nightmarish energy crisis for the foreseeable future.

Investors know this, and this is just one of the reasons why the price of oil suddenly spiked today.

Meanwhile, stock prices are way down as I write this article.

A moment of reckoning really is approaching for the global economy, because oil stockpiles have just continued to get tighter and tighter…

If that crude stops flowing, that could create significant problems for America’s oil market.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, America’s emergency stockpile of oil, has been drawn down significantly since the war broke out to help replace all those barrels of oil lost in the strait. The SPR is now at 319.5 million barrels, down 23% from its pre-war level and at its lowest point since the Reagan administration started filling it in 1983.

That puts the United States in a precarious position if it faces severe weather or another full closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Perhaps more crucially, commercial stockpiles remain at critical levels. Inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, the pipeline crossroads of America, remain below operational stress levels.

There was hope that we could avoid widespread shortages and rationing.

Some commercial traffic was getting through the Strait of Hormuz, and many were optimistic that the U.S. and Iran would soon sign a permanent deal to end the war.

Needless to say, that wave of optimism is now gone.

Meanwhile, Russia is also facing a historic energy crisis because Ukraine keeps striking their oil and natural gas facilities…

Anger is growing in Russia over lengthy lines at gas stations nationwide, with Vladimir Putin forced to acknowledge a fuel crisis in a rare public admission of weakness.

More than four years into the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s relentless attacks on Putin’s oil refineries are being felt across the country. Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, has struggled to produce enough fuel to meet domestic demand. Meanwhile, wholesale fuel prices have risen, and rationing has been introduced in several regions.

Russia normally exports a great deal of oil, but now they have been forced to start importing it.

What a mess.

If the Strait of Hormuz ends up being closed for an extended period of time, how will the global economy possibly function normally?

The U.S. has been the supplier of last resort in recent months, and as a result we have been rapidly running through the cushion that we had.

It appears that we are just weeks away from a major supply crunch.

So many of the scenarios that I specifically warned about are starting to play out right in front of our eyes.

Once we go tumbling over the edge, there will be no way back.

History is making a major turn in July 2026, but most people in the general population still don’t seem to realize what is happening.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

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