Dow falls over 700 points, oil hits $100 as Irans new leader to keep Strait of Hormuz blocked
US stocks plummeted Thursday as oil prices hit $100 after Iran’s new supreme leader vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz blocked.The Dow Jones Industrial Average had plunged 739 points, or 1.6%, Thursday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively.Brent crude oil prices jumped 9% to above $100 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $95.73 – sending national average gasoline prices to $3.60, an increase of over 20% the past month, according to AAA.Iran has vowed to attack any ship that dares to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime route for 20% of the world’s oil supply – and its new supreme leader on Thursday vowed to keep that blockade in place.“Certainly, the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz should still be used,” Mojtaba Khamenei said in his first message to the public, following reports that he was unconscious after being severely injured in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father and other family members.At least six foreign vessels have reportedly been attacked in the Gulf in less than 48 hours, according to authorities, as images showed oil tankers ablaze in the water.Economists have warned that energy shocks tend to ripple across consumer prices, potentially reheating inflation as the labor market shows signs of weakening – creating the toxic mix of high prices and flat growth known as stagflation.President Trump has argued that carrying out “Operation Epic Fury” in Iran is more important than the threat of higher oil and diesel prices – which could send prices higher not just at gas pumps, but at grocery stores, restaurants and retailers, too, according to experts.“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Thursday morning.“BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping [sic] an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, ...