Trump Calls New Iran Strikes Unlikely as Blockade Stays in Place

President Trump met Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, at the White House on Monday, November 9. Qatar has been a key go-between in talks to end the Iran war. After the closed-door meeting, Trump said renewed US military action against Iran is "quite unlikely" for now, The National reported. He added that the US is "locked and loaded" if conditions change. Trump also wrote that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait favor keeping the US naval blockade of Iran in place, and he called an Iranian nuclear weapon "non-negotiable."

The diplomatic picture is still mixed. A day earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called some of Iran's demands "outrageous and ridiculous" and said the two sides are not close to a breakthrough, the Times of Israel reported. Reports on Monday said the US has offered to partly lift the blockade if Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. Neither government has confirmed those terms.

Two claims from the weekend remain unverified. Residents of Iran's Qeshm Island reported explosions late on November 8, and an Iranian provincial official told Fars News that a US attack caused them. US officials have not confirmed a new strike. Rubio said only that the US would act defensively against a clear threat to shipping or US forces. Separately, an unnamed Revolutionary Guard Navy official told Iranian state media that navigation aids in the southern strait were destroyed and that no unauthorized ships passed overnight, Reuters reported. The claim did not say who destroyed the aids, and no independent source has confirmed it. Drop Site News, whose November 6 report described Qeshm fishermen who survived earlier US strikes, had not covered either weekend claim as of this morning.

Iran has largely halted traffic through the strait, which normally carries about 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. For an American household, that still shows up at the pump. AAA put the national average for regular gasoline at $4.00 a gallon on November 9, down 16 cents in a week as crude slipped. That is still the highest November price on record, and diesel averaged $6.17. Both numbers will keep moving with the headlines. The Strait of Hormuz and the US economy are linked through oil, shipping and freight, so pump prices tend to trail the news in both directions.

A falling price is a good time to top off. Keep the half-tank habit and fill up on the dips rather than the spikes. If you drive for work, the steps to prepare for a gas shortage help you build a buffer for a short squeeze. Families who keep fuel at home can store gasoline long term with the right containers and a rotation schedule.

Talks can turn quickly in either direction, and claims from every side arrive faster than they can be checked. Identifying misinformation starts with waiting for a second, independent source before you change your plans. As of Tuesday morning, the blockade remains in place and the strait remains largely closed to commercial traffic.