{"id":12376,"date":"2026-04-30T08:23:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/04\/30\/live-updates-oil-surges-to-new-wartime-high-as-trump-mulls-extended-blockade-of-iranian-ports-cnn\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T08:23:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:23:38","slug":"live-updates-oil-surges-to-new-wartime-high-as-trump-mulls-extended-blockade-of-iranian-ports-cnn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/04\/30\/live-updates-oil-surges-to-new-wartime-high-as-trump-mulls-extended-blockade-of-iranian-ports-cnn\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Oil surges to new wartime high as Trump mulls extended blockade of Iranian ports – CNN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, who is also an Iraq war veteran, talks to CNN’s Erin Burnett about Secretary Hegseth’s defense of the U.S. war with Iran, and President Putin’s offer to help.<\/p>\n

” data-duration=”05:38″ data-source-html=” \u2022 Source: CNN<\/a> <\/span>” data-fave-thumbnails=”{“big”: { “uri”: “https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/rep-seth-moulton-speaks-to-cnn.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” }, “small”: { “uri”: “https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/rep-seth-moulton-speaks-to-cnn.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” } }” data-vr-video=”false” data-show-html=”Erin Burnett Out Front<\/a>” data-byline-html=”<\/p>\n

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Updated 3:53 AM EDT, Thu April 30, 2026 <\/div>\n

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Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, who is also an Iraq war veteran, talks to CNN’s Erin Burnett about Secretary Hegseth’s defense of the U.S. war with Iran, and President Putin’s offer to help.<\/p>\n

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Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, who is also an Iraq war veteran, talks to CNN’s Erin Burnett about Secretary Hegseth’s defense of the U.S. war with Iran, and President Putin’s offer to help.<\/p>\n

“,”firstPublishSlug”:”ebof-iran-war-congressman-seth-moulton-hegseth”,”headline”:”Dem confronts Hegseth over Iran threats: ‘that’s murder'”,”id”:”me206156c7649ff680a91740fb5ea01d8b0d1eb9ff”,”isAdSensitive”:false,”mediumId”:”me206156c7649ff680a91740fb5ea01d8b0d1eb9ff”,”sectionName”:”us”,”source”:”CNN”,”stellarId”:”L19jb21wb25lbnRzL3ZpZGVvLXJlc291cmNlL2luc3RhbmNlcy9jbW9rb2lhbG4wMDAwMzU2bzN6MTc2Yzlx”,”trt”:”338.505″,”videoTags”:[],”videoUrl”:”https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/04\/29\/us\/video\/ebof-iran-war-congressman-seth-moulton-hegseth”}”> \"Rep.<\/picture> <\/div>\n

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Dem confronts Hegseth over Iran threats: ‘that’s murder’ <\/p>\n

5:38 <\/span> \u2022 Source: CNN<\/a> <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Dem confronts Hegseth over Iran threats: ‘that’s murder’<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

5:38 <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2022 Oil price surge:<\/strong> Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, surged above $126 per barrel Thursday morning after setting a new wartime high, as US President Donald Trump lays the groundwork for an extended blockade of Iranian ports<\/a>. Iran\u2019s oil minister, meanwhile, urged Iranians to cut consumption. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Defense hearing: <\/strong>US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed opposition<\/a> to the Iran war during a congressional hearing Wednesday, describing lawmakers who criticize the effort as \u201cthe biggest adversary.\u201d The hearing marks the first time he has testified since the conflict began and comes as the White House seeks roughly $1.5 trillion for its defense budget. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Peace talks:<\/strong> Pakistan could receive Iran\u2019s revised peace proposal by Friday, sources say<\/a>, as Trump responded to the current deadlock in peace talks by warning Iran \u201cbetter get smart soon,\u201d posting a mocked-up image of himself<\/a> holding a gun on his Truth Social platform. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Trump-Putin call: <\/strong>Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran ceasefire and other topics in a 1.5-hour call.<\/a> Trump said afterward that Putin had offered to help with Iran\u2019s uranium stockpiles. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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China has found 225 new oil and gas fields within its borders over the past five years, Beijing officials said Thursday, a potential boost as the world is battered by energy shortages and cost increases. <\/p>\n

Among the newly discovered sites are 13 oil fields holding more than 100 million tons and 26 gas fields with reserves exceeding 100 billion cubic meters, the Natural Resources Ministry said. <\/p>\n

Though it didn\u2019t specify how much of that fossil-fuel bounty is currently available, it said the country\u2019s natural gas production could increase year by year and oil production was holding steady at 200 million tons per year, \u201cthanks to the significant increase in the newly discovered energy reserves.\u201d <\/p>\n

Officials vowed to \u201cresolutely safeguard our energy security,\u201d and push ahead with oil and gas exploration. <\/p>\n

The ministry said it has invested over 450 billion yuan ($66 billion) to almost double China\u2019s known crude oil and natural gas reserves, compared with a decade ago. <\/p>\n

The move comes as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint in the transit much of the world\u2019s oil, has led to a global energy shortage. <\/p>\n

China is the world\u2019s biggest energy importer. It imports around 10% of its oil from Iran and so isn\u2019t insulated from the shocks. But it is so far faring better than most major economies due to a long-running energy self-reliance drive<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week called on cadres to \u201csystemically address the challenges posed by external shocks, enhance the security of energy and resource supplies, and counter various uncertainties with the certainty of high-quality development.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iran \u201cwill not tolerate\u201d an extension of the US\u2019s naval blockade, according to state media. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf the blockade continues, Iran will respond,\u201d Rezaei said in a televised interview, Iran state broadcaster IRIB reported early Thursday. <\/p>\n

His comments came as US President Donald Trump mulls an extended blockade of Iranian ports<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Rezaei also urged the public not to listen to rumors about status of Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard from since he was announced as Iran\u2019s new supreme leader more than six weeks ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Supreme Leader is young, healthy, and energetic, and is managing the affairs of the country,\u201d Rezaei said, according to IRIB. <\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the US \u201chas indications\u201d that Khamenei is still alive<\/a>, though he said it\u2019s not clear how much credibility the new supreme leader has in Iran. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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While tensions in the Middle East centered on Iran, Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla in international waters bound for Gaza. <\/p>\n

In a post to X, the Global Sumud Flotilla said military speedboats self-identified as \u201cIsrael\u201d approached it, with personnel on the speedboats pointing assault weapons at the flotilla members, telling them to move to the front of the vessel. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of their aggression, Israeli navy intercepted vessels, jammed communications, including distress channels, and aggressively abducted civilians,\u201d Global Sumud wrote in a statement. It accused Israel of operating with \u201cimpunity, far beyond its own borders, with no consequences.\u201d <\/p>\n

The incident took place in the waters east of the Greek island of Crete, nearly 700 miles (1130 kilometers) from the coast of Israel. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry said on X that it boarded a \u201cPR stunt flotilla\u201d and alleged that it found \u201ccondoms and drugs\u201d on board. Flotilla spokesperson Gur Tsabar <\/strong>called the Israeli claim and an accompanying video \u201cmisinformation\u201d and said it was not related to the flotilla\u2019s vessels. <\/p>\n

A video from the flotilla filmed from inside one of its vessels shows a radio with a voice emanating from it identifying itself as the Israeli navy. <\/p>\n

\u201cPlease change your course and return to your port of origin,\u201d it says. <\/p>\n

Greenpeace confirmed that its affiliated vessel Arctic Sunrise received the radio warning and that contact had been lost with several flotilla vessels after communication channels were jammed. <\/p>\n

The flotilla set sail from Barcelona on April 12, as a \u201ccarefully structured civilian intervention at a moment of escalating violence and humanitarian crisis,\u201d according to its website. <\/p>\n

The Global Sumud Flotilla has made previous attempts<\/a> to get aid to Gaza. In October of last year, it was intercepted by Israeli forces. On that occasion the navy boarded vessels and detained hundreds including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, surged above $125 per barrel on Thursday morning, as President Donald Trump mulls an extended blockade of Iranian ports. Kristie Lu Stout reports.<\/p>\n

” data-duration=”04:36″ data-source-html=” \u2022 Source: CNN<\/a> <\/span>” data-fave-thumbnails=”{“big”: { “uri”: “https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/thumb-22582447-275668-thumb.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” }, “small”: { “uri”: “https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/thumb-22582447-275668-thumb.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” } }” data-vr-video=”false” data-show-html=”” data-byline-html=”<\/p>\n

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By Manveena Suri<\/span>, CNN <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

” data-timestamp-html=”<\/p>\n

Updated 3:53 AM EDT, Thu April 30, 2026 <\/div>\n

” data-check-event-based-preview data-is-vertical-video-embed=”false” data-network-id data-publish-date=”2026-04-30T05:33:17.383Z” data-video-section=”business” data-canonical-url=”https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/04\/30\/business\/video\/kls-brent-oil-price-v2″ data-branding-key data-video-slug=”kls-brent-oil-price-v2″ data-first-publish-slug=”kls-brent-oil-price-v2″ data-video-tags data-breakpoints=”{“video-resource–media-extra-large”: 660}” data-display-video-cover=”true” data-details> <\/p>\n

Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, surged above $125 per barrel on Thursday morning, as President Donald Trump mulls an extended blockade of Iranian ports. Kristie Lu Stout reports.<\/p>\n

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Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, surged above $125 per barrel on Thursday morning, as President Donald Trump mulls an extended blockade of Iranian ports. Kristie Lu Stout reports.<\/p>\n

“,”firstPublishSlug”:”kls-brent-oil-price-v2″,”headline”:”Brent oil prices surge above $125 after setting new wartime high”,”id”:”me19c82c9331f2267e9ec26aab60c589cf2c554369″,”isAdSensitive”:false,”mediumId”:”me19c82c9331f2267e9ec26aab60c589cf2c554369″,”sectionName”:”business”,”source”:”CNN”,”stellarId”:”L19jb21wb25lbnRzL3ZpZGVvLXJlc291cmNlL2luc3RhbmNlcy9jbW9sMWowZTAwMDAxM2I2NTVpa2RiejN0″,”trt”:”276.777″,”videoTags”:[],”videoUrl”:”https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/04\/30\/business\/video\/kls-brent-oil-price-v2″}”> \"thumb_22582447_275668_thumb.jpg\"<\/picture> <\/div>\n

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Brent oil prices surge above $125 after setting new wartime high <\/p>\n

4:36 <\/span> \u2022 Source: CNN<\/a> <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Brent oil prices surge above $125 after setting new wartime high<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

4:36 <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Brent crude oil prices, the global benchmark, surged above $125 per barrel on Thursday morning, as US President Donald Trump mulls an extended blockade of Iranian ports. <\/p>\n

June contracts for Brent crude had already hit a wartime high, but jumped above $125 per barrel, up more than 12%, as of 12:39 am ET Thursday. WTI crude, the US benchmark, was up more than 3%, sitting above $110 per barrel. <\/p>\n

The surge in global oil prices came as US gas prices reached a four-year high, and as face-to-face negotiations between the US and Iran broke down, keeping the Strait of Hormuz \u2013 a critical oil and gas shipping channel \u2013 effectively shut still. <\/p>\n

The hike in prices follows a meeting betweenTrump<\/a> and his top advisers, during which the President said he wanted the US naval blockade of Iranian ports<\/a> to continue, sources familiar with the talks told CNN, and his team has begun laying the groundwork for such an extension, including a longer-term closure of the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n

With the June Brent contract set to expire at the session\u2019s end, trading volume has shifted to the July futures. That more active contract pushed above $113 a barrel Wednesday night. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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As the White House lays the ground work for an extended blockade of Iranian ports<\/a>, Asian nations will be bracing for further fallout. <\/p>\n

The price of oil is surging again after US President Donald Trump said he will maintain the naval blockade on Iran\u2019s ports and vessels unless Iran agrees to curb its nuclear program. <\/p>\n

Asian nations, which are heavily reliant on energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, have borne the brunt of the economic pain from the war that has stretched into its 9th week. Everything is in short supply, from crude and natural gas to plastics and fertilizers. <\/p>\n

Brent crude is now trading at $123 a barrel<\/a>. On Thursday, oil prices surged with Brent crude up more than 12%, hitting $126 at one point. <\/strong>Before the war, 80% of the crude oil and gas that flowed through the Strait of Hormuz headed to Asia. <\/p>\n

With the price of jet fuel more than doubling, regional carriers are under pressure and scrambling to cope. Carriers including Qantas, Air New Zealand, Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia have already cut flights. <\/p>\n

Asia, also home to major copper and nickel producers, has been hit by a shortage of sulfur \u2013 a key Gulf energy by-product that\u2019s been effectively trapped by the conflict. Indonesia, the world\u2019s largest nickel producer, is now trimming output. <\/p>\n

To safeguard its major energy-consuming industries and consumers, South Korea is diversifying energy supply away from the Strait of Hormuz and increasing imports from the US, Algeria, Oman and elsewhere. <\/p>\n

China has been able to weather the Iran energy shock better than its Asian neighbors thanks to its vast strategic reserves, embrace of coal, and diversified power grid. But the economic giant is vulnerable to surging prices and slowing demand for its exports as a result of the ongoing conflict. <\/p>\n

Rising fuel costs have affected the lives and livelihoods of scores of people across the region from farmers in Thailand to drivers in the Philippines. As disruptions linger, the human suffering across Asia will deepen. <\/p>\n

According to a UN report released earlier this month, around 8.8 million people in the Asia-Pacific region are at risk of falling into poverty because of the war. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"President<\/picture> <\/div>\n

All eyes are on Tehran as the United States awaits Iran\u2019s revised peace proposal<\/a>, which could come by Friday, according to sources familiar with the mediation. <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiations to end the war with Iran are happening \u201ctelephonically\u201d because \u201cwe\u2019re not flying anymore\u201d for 18-hour flights to Islamabad after the first round of in-person talks ended without a deal, and the second ended up canceled. <\/p>\n

Trump said his response to any proposal from Iran will depend on how far they go on its nuclear program, saying \u201cthere will never be a deal unless they agree that there will be no nuclear weapons.\u201d <\/p>\n

Remember: <\/strong>Iran\u2019s earlier proposal, which Trump rejected, called for ending the war first and dealing with Iran\u2019s nuclear weapons at a later stage. <\/p>\n

Catch up on the latest between the US-Iran:<\/em> <\/p>\n

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