Hormuz Strikes Drive Oil Prices Higher Amid Shipping Chaos

President Donald Trump shifted a planned Cabinet retreat from Camp David to the White House on Wednesday, citing forecasts of thunderstorms, as his administration navigates a fragile ceasefire with Iran and works to shore up support ahead of the midterm elections. The change came after recent public surveys showed his approval ratings reaching a new low in the second term, driven in part by voter concerns over the economy and the protracted conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in late February.

The meeting, which the White House said would address both foreign policy and domestic priorities, follows a series of limited military exchanges that have tested the terms of the current pause in fighting. U.S. Central Command reported that American forces intercepted four Iranian one-way attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and struck a ground-control site near Bandar Abbas to prevent a fifth launch. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded hours later by targeting what it described as the source of the U.S. strikes, with Kuwaiti forces intercepting a ballistic missile directed toward their territory. No casualties were reported in either incident, though both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire.

Negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled. The waterway, which carries roughly one-fifth of global energy trade, has been effectively closed to most commercial traffic since Iran imposed restrictions following the initial U.S.-Israeli campaign. The Treasury Department sanctioned Iran’s newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority on Wednesday, describing it as an attempt by the Revolutionary Guard to extract revenue from international shipping. Trump has rejected any arrangement that would allow Iran or a partner such as Oman to collect tolls, insisting instead on unrestricted navigation under U.S. oversight.

During a portion of the Cabinet session that was broadcast, Trump dismissed reports of an emerging framework that would include sanctions relief or shared administration of the strait. He said any agreement must be “great,” not merely “good,” and ruled out unfreezing Iranian assets until Tehran demonstrates compliance. “I don’t care about the midterms,” he added, responding to speculation that electoral pressures might prompt concessions. White House officials described the reported draft as fabricated and reiterated that no sanctions relief is under discussion.

Public polling has shown softening support for the administration’s handling of both the conflict and broader economic conditions. The White House has pointed to recent small-business measures as evidence of progress, though those gains have not yet translated into improved overall ratings. The decision to keep the Cabinet session in Washington rather than at the Maryland retreat also reflects the administration’s focus on maintaining steady communication with negotiators and military commanders as talks continue.

The three-month mark of the conflict has left both sides in a position where decisive victory appears unlikely. Iranian officials have signaled willingness to explore Chinese mediation while rejecting demands to surrender their enriched uranium stockpile. U.S. policymakers, for their part, have emphasized that air power alone cannot eliminate years of nuclear expertise developed across dispersed sites. The immediate challenge for the Trump administration is translating battlefield pressure into a durable diplomatic outcome that satisfies domestic political constraints without reigniting wider fighting.