Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to 'get smart soon' and sign a deal, Reuters reported.
The talks with oil executives on Tuesday followed days of deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday before details of the meeting emerged, Trump, who has said Iran can call if it wants to talk, said the country "couldn't get its act together".
Trump's talks with energy executives addressed potential steps to calm oil markets if it is necessary to continue the blockade of Iranian ports for months, a White House official said, adding they discussed U.S. oil production, oil futures, shipping and natural gas.
Oil prices rose almost 4% on Wednesday, with the Brent contract hitting a one-month high, after an initial report in the Wall Street Journal said the U.S. may extend its blockade.
Iran has pledged to continue disrupting traffic through the strait as long as it is threatened, which may mean more Middle East oil supply disruptions from the conflict, which has killed thousands and caused global economic upheaval.
Tehran warned on Wednesday of "unprecedented military action" against continued U.S. blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has stressed repeatedly that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran denies pursuing such a goal and insist on its right to a civilian nuclear programme.
"They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They'd better get smart soon!" Trump said in the post, without explaining what such a deal would entail.
It featured a mock-up image of him in dark glasses and wielding a machine gun with the caption "No more Mr. Nice Guy."
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