Iran’s parliament has voted to shut down the vital Hormuz shipping channel in retaliation against Donald Trump’s attack on the country, prompting fears of a sharp spike in oil prices that could cause a global recession.
In Nigeria, petrol price is at risk of increasing from the current average of between N925-N950 per litre as prices are dependent on global rates.
Trump ordered air strikes against three important nuclear programme sites in Iran this weekend with the U.S government saying the strikes completely obliterated Iran’s nuclear ability.
A barrel of Brent crude was selling for about $77 on Friday, June 20, having risen by more than 10% since mid-June when Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear sites prompted missile strikes from Tehran against Tel Aviv.
But Trump’s decision to follow Israel by launching a U.S attack on Iran this weekend has set off a chain of events that analysts warned could drive prices up much further when markets open at 11pm UK time on Sunday,June 22.
A fifth of the world’s oil consumption flows through the strait of Hormuz, which is a gateway out of the Persian Gulf.
The vote, reported by Reuters , is not binding because the final decision rests with Iran’s supreme national security council.
But analysts were already predicting a spike of up to $5 before the result of the vote was known.
Iran Will Respond To US Strikes
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said that the U.S must “receive a response” to attacks on its nuclear sites.
“The Americans must receive a response to their aggression,” Pezeshkian told French president Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Despite U.S Strikes, Iranian Still Possesses Enriched Uranium Stockpile, Says Top Official
An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the country still had its stockpile of enriched uranium despite attacks by the U.S on key nuclear sites.
“Even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn’t over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain,” said Ali Shamkhani in a post on X.
He added that the “political and operational initiative is now with the side that plays smart, avoids blind strikes. Surprises will continue!”
Trump Ally Angrily Attacks President
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a U.S Representative of Georgia and a staunch Donald Trump ally, condemned Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In a post on X, Greene said: “Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war. There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.”
UK, France, Germany Urge Iran Not To Retaliate
The UK, France and Germany have released a joint statement following American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying that they call upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear program.
The three countries also urged Iran “not to take any further action that could destabilize the region”, adding: “We have consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security.”
Islamic Countries Move To De-escalate Regional Tension
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has announced that it will set up a ministerial contact group to establish regular contact with regional and international parties to support de-escalation efforts and “stop the aggression against Iran”.
On Sunday, in a joint declaration following a meeting of OIC Foreign Ministers in Istanbul, the 57-member group condemned “the aggression of Israel”, as well as emphasized “the urgent need to stop Israeli attacks and their great concern regarding this dangerous escalation”.
The joint statement, which did not mention the U.S’s bombs against Iran, also urged the international community to take “deterrent measures to stop this aggression and make Israel accountable for crimes committed”.
