'Go get your own oil': Trump lashes out at allies as Iran war chokes key oil route

William Brangham:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

President Trump said tonight that the war with Iran will likely last another two to three weeks, but the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz continues to be a problem for the U.S., and the president again lashed out at allies for not doing more to help.

Iran's de facto blockade of that waterway has driven up the cost of oil worldwide and sent American gas prices to their highest level in years.

Overnight, targets outside the ancient, historic Iranian city of Isfahan were set ablaze by U.S. strikes, home to a large ammunition depot in one of the country's main nuclear complexes, now a towering inferno.

President Trump posted this video to his social media, projecting U.S. strength before, hours later, conveying frustration. The president said that nations that were upset by Iran's choking of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil normally flows, should take matters into their own hands.

"Go to the strait and just take it," the president wrote. "You have to start learning how to fight for yourself. Go get your own oil."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today directed more blame on U.S. allies, who have so far refused to participate in this war.

Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary:

This is an international waterway that we use less than most, in fact dramatically less than most. So the world ought to pay attention to be prepared to stand up. President Trump's been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of Iran. It's not just our problem set going forward.

William Brangham:

Iran has allowed some ships to pass through the strait, including from China, India and Malaysia. The U.S. claims up to 20 tankers are expected to pass through in coming days. But Iran's attacks in and around the strait continue, including a drone strike on a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker off the coast of Dubai.

The attack punctured its hull and set the ship ablaze. The crew managed to put out the fire before it ignited its cargo and no oil was spilled. But attacks like these have sent shockwaves through global oil markets. Dozens of oil and gas facilities have been targeted and damaged by Iran's retaliation, including fields, refineries, storage and ports.

And as fuel prices have soared worldwide, here in the U.S., the price at the pump hit $4 a gallon, the highest level since 2022, the national average up more than a dollar since before the war began.

Pete Hegseth:

President Trump will make a deal. He is willing.

William Brangham:

Secretary Hegseth said talks were ongoing and gaining strength, despite Iran's public denials. But he said the U.S. was prepared to ramp up the war if Iran didn't yield to U.S. demands.

Pete Hegseth:

We don't want to have to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn't mean it flippantly when I said in the meantime we will negotiate with bombs.

William Brangham:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine added that the U.S. military campaign was increasingly limiting Iran's ability to replace what had been destroyed.

Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff: We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs. And this remains a truly joint effort prosecuted around the clock from air, land sea, space, and cyberspace.

William Brangham:

Iran's Revolutionary Guard hit back today with a new threat, saying it will soon target U.S. companies in the region, including Google, Apple, Intel, and Boeing.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, the U.S. State Department said it's aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist there, identified as Shelly Kittleson by one of the outlets that she worked for. A U.S. official said a member of an Iranian proxy known as Kataib Hezbollah was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the kidnapping.

Today, a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran could no longer threaten Israel's existence and promised to speak soon about new alliances in the region. And the U.S. is reportedly adding even further to its forces, dispatching a third aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, the USS George H.W. Bush.

But Secretary Hegseth would not stay today if the U.S. would deploy ground forces.

Pete Hegseth:

We're not going to foreclose any option. You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground.

William Brangham:

All options open to a potentially open-ended conflict.