Oil prices surge again as Trump weighs options to end Iran war and Hegseth faces lawmakers

Geoff Bennett:

The top U.S. commander in the Middle East briefed President Trump today on potential military options and the ongoing blockade of the Persian Gulf, while talks to end the war with Iran and ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz both remain at a standstill.

Amna Nawaz:

Meantime, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced more grilling from lawmakers as the price of oil is surging and as a key deadline for congressional wartime authorization is fast approaching.

Here's Nick Schifrin with more.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR):

Operation Epic Fury has been a smashing military success.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI):

We have got to see action a whole lot sooner in the straits.

Nick Schifrin:

Today on Capitol Hill, much of the partisan war over the war in Iran focused on the fate of the waterway that both Iran and the U.S. today claim to control.

Sen. Gary Peters:

We're not going to bring this war to an end until we seize control of the straits in a way that will open them up back up.

Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary:

Which in part is why we have a blockade that has been impenetrable for the Iranians because they don't have a conventional navy to contest it, which means we control the straits.

Nick Schifrin:

Secretary Defense Pete Hegseth said a U.S. blockade that has stopped 38 ships from Iranian docks was pressuring Iran, as echoed today by President Trump.

President Donald Trump:

The blockade is incredible. The power of the blockade is incredible. They're not getting any money from oil. And, hopefully, it can be worked out very soon.

Nick Schifrin:

But in a message read on state TV, today, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said he has no interest in working it out and said Iran had an ongoing choke hold over the strait.

Woman:

"The Islamic Iran in gratitude for the divine blessing of exercising authority over the Strait of Hormuz will secure the Persian Gulf region and eliminate the ground for exploitation by hostile enemies."

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI):

You know, we can try and tell the American people that it's going great and we're killing it, but until the Strait of Hormuz is open, I don't think we can credibly say that with any seriousness.

Nick Schifrin:

Global markets also do not believe the strait is open. Earlier today, Brent crude surged past $126 a barrel, the highest price since the beginning of the war and the highest in four years.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY):

This war is costing so much money, over $25 billion already, estimates, $1 billion a day, and they're feeling it every single day at the gas pump.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ):

This war is stuck. The Strait of Hormuz is closed. The Iranian regime is in place, the nuclear material still in their hands.

Nick Schifrin:

Hegseth urged critics to wait.

Pete Hegseth:

And I would remind you and this group that we're two months in to an effort. And many congressional Democrats, as I pointed out, want to declare defeat two months in.

Nick Schifrin:

To discuss the blockade and the possibility of restarting the war, a U.S. official tells "PBS News Hour" the military's top commander in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, is briefing the National Security Council this afternoon.

But so long as the cease-fire continues, Hegseth says the requirement that the administration get congressional authorization to keep fighting is on hold.

Pete Hegseth:

We are in a cease-fire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a cease-fire.

(Crosstalk)

Pete Hegseth:

It's our understanding, just so you know.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):

OK. Well, I do not believe the statute would support that. I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow. And that's going to pose a really important legal question for the administration.

Nick Schifrin:

But there appears no congressional appetite to enforce that war powers statute. The U.S. this week made a new call for countries to join a coalition to help secure the strait. But that effort wouldn't begin until the war concludes. Until then, the strait and efforts to end the war remain at a standstill.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.