Iran Prepares to Export Mining, Oil Hits Big – What It Says About Bitcoin
A White House official’s deleted social media post sent oil prices down briefly – only for them to bounce back sharply after US intelligence found signs that Iran was moving to mine the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that carries about one-fifth of the world’s daily oil supply.
Deleted post and Market Whipsaw
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted on social media that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker to safety in the Strait, a claim that briefly calmed markets and sent crude prices lower.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt later confirmed that the post was false. Wright removed it. Oil is back up.
The episode shook an already jittery market and drew criticism from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who accused Washington of deliberately spreading false information to manipulate oil prices.
“It’s not going to protect them from the inflationary pressure they’ve put on the American people,” Araghchi said.
The intelligence behind the price increase came from CBS White House Correspondent Jennifer Jacobs, who reported that US intelligence assets had detected signs of Iranian mine shipment activity in the Strait.
Brent crude rose above $90 a barrel after dipping to a two-day low of around $82. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, rose above $80 after touching $77 earlier in the session.
Both were still at record lows on the day, but the speed of the recovery underscored how serious traders are about any threat to supply in the area.
Trump Warns of Unprecedented Military Response to Iran
US President Donald Trump escalated tensions in a Truth Social post, ordering Iran to remove any mines placed in the Strait without delay.
“If, on the other hand, they remove what may be imposed, it will be a big step in the right direction,” Trump wrote. He warned that failure to follow through would bring military consequences at a level, in his words, “unprecedented.”
The warning came a day after Trump had already drawn a hard line on the waterway, promising a response “twenty times harder” if Iran interfered with shipping there.
Image: Investing News Network
Iran’s foreign minister pushed back, saying markets were not fully calculating the scale of the potential shock.
“Markets are facing the biggest deficit in history – bigger than the Arab Oil Embargo, Iran’s Islamic Revolution, and the invasion of Kuwait combined,” Araghchi wrote.
Data from Bloomberg showed that Hormuz traffic has effectively stopped, with only Iran-bound ships passing through. Tehran has decided that there are no talks with Washington, as Trump has said that talks are still possible.
Bitcoin Slips Below $70,000 on Geopolitical Jitters
Turmoil in the oil markets has spilled over into crypto. Bitcoin fell below $70,000 after news of a mining threat broke, reversing earlier gains that kept BTC trading above that psychological level.
At the time of reporting, the coin was hovering around $69,200 – up modestly on the day but still off its March high of $73,000.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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