Oil prices edge higher after Trump says Iran will pay for killing U.S. service members

Oil prices edged higher on Monday after President Donald Trump said Iran would pay for the deaths of three U.S. service members, and Houthi militants in Yemen declared a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were last seen trading 32 cents higher at $88.42 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 1 cent to $82.50 per barrel.

“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military.”

Brent jumped nearly 4% overnight to break $90 per barrel, after the U.S. confirmed at least three service members have died during recent fighting with Iran. Prices eased when Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said negotiations with the U.S. could be pursued based on Tehran’s interests

Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen, meanwhile, declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday. The embargo could exacerbate the oil supply disruption triggered by Iran’s tanker attacks in Hormuz. The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to global markets.

The Saudis have diverted millions of barrels of oil per day through a pipeline to an export terminal on the Red Sea. Those exports have acted as a crucial relief valve for the global crude market during the U.S.-Iran war.

The U.S. has bombed Iran for nine consecutive nights in retaliation for repeated attacks on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is trying to force ships to transit the strait through its territorial waters. Its attacks have killed at least two seafarers and injured more than a dozen this month.