Iran live updates: Oil benchmark surges to highs not seen since 2022

Rear Adm. Shahram Irani, the commander of the Iranian Navy, said in a statement published by Iranian state media on Wednesday that Iran "will take swift and decisive action" in the event of resumed hostilities with the U.S. and Israel.

Tehran, Irani said, has "closed the Strait of Hormuz from the Arabian Sea, and if they come forward, we will take swift and decisive action," as quoted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting organization.

The price of oil again surged on Thursday, with a key benchmark climbing to prices not seen since 2022, as President Donald Trump again said the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was expected to continue.

Trump told Axios in a phone interview on Wednesday that he rejected an Iranian peace offer that would lift the naval blockade and open the strait but delay nuclear talks.

Brent crude prices, a benchmark for global trading, climbed about 3% on Thursday, crossing briefly above $120 a barrel for contracts to purchase oil in June. The price rose as high as $126 per barrel but pared some of its gains by midmorning in London.

Futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate climbed about 1% in early trading, briefly topping $110 per barrel for June purchases.

Gas prices in the United States hit on Tuesday their highest level in four years, according to AAA.

President Donald Trump said that Iran has to "cry uncle" and say, "We give up," when asked how long he is prepared to maintain the naval blockade.

"Militarily, we've wiped them out. They have no military left there," Trump said while taking questions during an Oval Office event with the Artemis II astronauts. "The Navy's at the bottom of the sea. The Air Force is never going to fly again."

"Now they have to cry, uncle. That's all they have to do," he continued. "Just say, 'We give up. We give up.' But their economy is really in trouble. It's a dead economy."

The Pentagon's comptroller, Jay Hurst, told members of Congress that the cost of the Iran operation so far has been $25 billion.

It's the first public accounting disclosed by the Pentagon.

"At this day, we're spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. Most of that is in munitions," Hurst said during a House hearing on the Pentagon's budget request on Wednesday.