Shippingtelegraph: Trump threatens US will hit Iran ‘20 times harder’ if Strait of Hormuz oil flow blocked

US president Donald Trump left on Tuesday open the possibility of an escalation in fighting if global oil supplies are disrupted by Iran.

Trump threatened Iran against halting the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, as oil prices rise amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America twenty times harder than they have been hit thus far,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again – Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them – But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen.”

Trump added that his demand is a “gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use” the Hormuz Strait. “Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated,” he said.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest level of the conflict on March 8, Maritime AI™ company Windward warned, with only two outbound Iranian-flagged vessels recorded and no inbound crossings observed.

Both vessels were Iranian-flagged, reinforcing the assessment that international commercial traffic has effectively withdrawn from the waterway.

Only two crossings were recorded on March 8, both outbound, representing a 33% decrease compared with the previous day and far below the seven-day average of 5.88 crossings.

Evidence has also emerged that at least one commercial tanker may have completed a dark transit through Hormuz with AIS disabled before reappearing several days later, suggesting that a small number of operators are still attempting passage under highly atypical operating conditions in order to capture elevated freight premiums.

The collapse in commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appears to be driven not only by direct kinetic risk but also by a structural insurance shock within the global maritime risk market.

Hormuz traffic remains near minimum levels, but recent transits suggest that passage may still be possible for a narrow subset of vessels with lower exposure to Western finance or political alignment.

At the same time, GPS and AIS interference has intensified, attacks continue to affect commercial and support vessels, and insurance constraints are preventing much of the commercial fleet from re-entering the corridor.

Trump argued that the “short-term” surge in global oil prices is a “small price to pay” for destroying Iran’s nuclear threat, claiming that oil prices would “drop rapidly” once the alleged threat is over.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and world, safety and peace. Only fools would think differently,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump has sharply criticized Iran, which has said that the strategically important Strait of Hormuz is closed to all U.S. and Israeli ships.

“We focus on keeping the energy and oil flow to the world. And I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage.

“If Iran does that, we will hit them much, much harder,” Trump said on Monday at a press conference.

“In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles, nuclear menace, or anything. The Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe. We have a lot of navy ships there, the best equipment of the world.”

He goes on to say that he expects the price of oil and gas to fall again.

“We will end this once and for all, and the result will be lower oil and gas prices,” Trump said.

Trump added that 100 million barrels of oil had arrived at U.S. from Venezuela. There are another 100 million barrels of oil on the way to the United States, he said.