IRAN WAR UPDATES: Oil surges after Trump’s speech

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech Wednesday night sent oil prices surging again Thursday as he offered no new information on when the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened to oil tankers.

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He vowed to continue U.S. strikes on Iran for two or three more weeks, sending it “back to the Stone Ages.”

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During his speech, the President also said Iran’s navy has been destroyed since the initial Feb. 28 strikes, while its air force is “in ruins.”

However, Iran’s military rejected the Trump’s claim that its navy “is gone,” insisting that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms and munitions.

Here is the latest on the five-week-long war on Thursday:

Trump pressures Iran ‘to make a deal’

In a Truth Social post on Thursday afternoon, Trump shared a video of Iran’s biggest bridge collapsing, telling Tehran to make a deal.

“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again – Much more to follow!” the President warned in the post.

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“IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!” he posted.

The suspension bridge, linking Karaj to Tehran, was hit by airstrikes, according to a Times of Israel report.

Iranian foreign minister vows to keep fighting

Seemingly in response to Trump’s Truth Social post, Iran’s foreign minister wrote on X: “Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added, “It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray. Every bridge and building will be built back stronger. What will never recover: damage to America’s standing.”

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Iran’s military spokesman responds to Trump’s speech

Earlier Thursday, a spokesman for Iran’s military, reacting to Trump’s speech, insisted Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms and munitions.

Lt.-Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, made the comment.

“The centres you think you have targeted are insignificant, and our strategic military productions take place in locations of which you have no knowledge and will never reach,” he claimed.

Israel and the United States have hit thousands of targets in the weekslong war, targeting military bases, missile launchers and other sites.

Iranian missile fire has dropped, though Tehran is still able to mount attacks.

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Amazon adding fuel surcharge to third-party sellers in U.S. and Canada

With the world grappling with an oil and gas shortage caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Amazon is reportedly adding a temporary 3.5% “fuel and logistics-related surcharge” to fees it collects from third-party sellers.

According to CNBC, the online retail giant announced the surcharge on Thursday, citing elevated costs.

“We have absorbed these increased costs so far,” Amazon said in a note to sellers, per CNBC. “However, similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing.”

It said surcharge will take effect on April 17.

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Following Trump’s speech, the price of U.S. crude oil surged again Thursday, posting its biggest one-day price jump in six years, sitting at more than $111 per barrel.

Iran hangs 18-year-old protester: activists

Iranian authorities executed an 18-year-old arrested during the January protests on Thursday, according to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.

Amir Hossein Hatami was convicted of setting fire to a security forces base and sentenced to death in February along with six others by a Tehran revolutionary court.

Hatami was hanged at a prison outside Tehran as the Islamic republic ramps up executions during the war with the U.S. and Israel, the rights group said.

He is the fourth man to be executed over protests that broke out in Iran in late December against the rising cost of living before evolving into nationwide anti-government demonstrations. The protests peaked on Jan. 8 and 9 and were met with a crackdown that activists say left thousands dead.

– With files from The Associated Press and AFP

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