The Strait of Hormuz blockage is keeping oil prices high.
Image: NASA Earth Observatory / AFP
Asian stocks rallied on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the Middle East war would be over in up to three weeks and his Iranian counterpart said Tehran had "the necessary will" to bring it to an end.
But while the remarks from the two leaders provided hope for an end to the month-long crisis, crude prices jumped on lingering worries about the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
They also come as the economic impact of the conflict worsens, with average US petrol prices topping $4 a gallon (R17.86 per litre) for the first time in four years, European inflation spiking, and governments unveiling a range of support measures.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the United States would be leaving Iran "very soon", perhaps within "two weeks, maybe three".
"But we're finishing the job," he insisted.
"We want to knock out every single thing they have," Trump said, before adding that "it's possible that we'll make a deal before that."
The White House also said he would address the nation on Thursday "to provide an important update on Iran".
Earlier, Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian told the head of the European Council the country had "the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met — especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression".
Wall Street surged, with the Nasdaq up 3.8 percent and the S&P 500 adding almost three percent.
In Asia, Seoul — the standout before the war but among the worst-hit since it started — was up more than six percent, while Tokyo and Taipei gained at least four percent.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta were also sharply higher.
Traders appeared to brush off Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments that Israel would press ahead with its campaign and that "we will continue to crush the terror regime".
However, Trump also said US forces would not work to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes, and said it was up to other countries to do so.
"What happens with the strait we're not going to have anything to do with," he said.
In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump lashed out at NATO allies and other countries that have refused to help the United States secure the waterway.
"The U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us," he wrote. "Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"
The remarks came after he said on Monday that he was willing to end the war even if the strait remained closed.
Trump has zigzagged on whether Washington plans to escalate the conflict — possibly by deploying American ground forces — or try to end it through negotiations.
Both main crude contracts rose more than one percent on Wednesday, a day after Brent dived more than three percent and West Texas Intermediate shed 1.5 percent. On Wednesday morning, Brent Crude oil was trading at $105.
That came as more US troops continued to arrive in the region, and after the Wall Street Journal cited Arab officials as saying the United Arab Emirates was preparing to help Washington open the Strait by force, which would make it the first Gulf nation to join the battle.
The report said the UAE, which has been targeted by Iran during the war, was lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution to authorise such action.
The head of maritime analyst group Kpler told AFP that Asia faced the gravest fallout from the war.
"We think Asia will, for now, be the ones suffering the most," president Jean Maynier said.
Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said Tehran was under attack on Wednesday, reporting that explosions were heard in areas of the capital's north, east and centre.
Kuwait's civil aviation authority said Wednesday that the Gulf state's international airport had come under an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large fire" at fuel tanks.
Bahrain's interior ministry said a fire broke out at a business facility "as a result of the Iranian aggression", while Saudi Arabia said it shot down several drones.
A tanker was also hit in the waters off Qatar, a British maritime security agency said.
An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the United States said.
The State Department said it had warned the journalist of security risks and was working to ensure the American's release "as soon as possible".
The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked.
US President Donald Trump will give an address to the nation on Wednesday night "to provide an important update on Iran," the White House said.
The announcement comes as the commander-in-chief said US forces would end operations in Iran "very soon", evoking a timeline of two to three weeks as his administration pursues talks while continuing its aerial campaign.
Asked about the impact of high fuel prices since the war began, Trump told reporters: "All I have to do is leave Iran, and we'll be doing that very soon, and they'll come tumbling down."
Asian stocks rallied Wednesday after Trump indicated that the war may end soon.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 4.0 percent while benchmarks in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul all rose.
Three explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburbs early Wednesday, AFP journalists reported, as a series of Israeli strikes in the south of the Lebanese capital and a nearby area killed seven people and wounded dozens, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
The Israeli army said it struck a "senior Hezbollah commander" and another "senior" member of the Iran-backed group in Beirut.
Pope Leo XIV said he hoped Trump was looking to end the war in the Middle East and called for a halt to the violence.
"I'm told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully he's looking for an offramp, hopefully he's looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing," the pope told journalists.
At least eight people were killed Tuesday, including a paramedic, in Israeli strikes in south Lebanon, according to the ministry of health.
The ministry said a strike in Tyre district killed three people and wounded 19 more, while another attack in Sidon district killed four. A third strike in Bint Jbeil district hit a gathering point for the Risala Scouts, a rescue organisation run by a Hezbollah ally group, killing a paramedic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would press ahead with its military campaign against Tehran.
"The campaign is not over," he said in a televised statement. "We will continue to crush the terror regime."
Iran has the "necessary will" to end the war with the United States and Israel, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, emphasising that Tehran was seeking guarantees the conflict would not flare up again.
The comment, which boosted US markets and led oil prices to fall, came after a day of heavy strikes on Iran and followed a warning from the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to retaliate against leading US tech firms such as Google from Wednesday if more Iranian leaders were killed in "targeted assassinations".
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced Israel's deployment of troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an "illegal invasion" that violates its "integrity and sovereignty."
The EU urged member states to try to push down domestic demand for fuel in the face of surging energy prices caused by the Middle East war.
AFP
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