Are oil prices determining the course of the Iran war?

Oil prices surged to a four-year high on Monday, before dipping after President Trump said the Iran war will end “very soon”. Just days ago, Trump said that he would not stop the war until Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.

Turmoil in the region had led to the near complete shutdown of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has reportedly said it will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the Gulf if US-Israeli attacks continue.

We speak to BBC economics correspondent Andy Verity about the lessons both the US and Iran might be learning from the oil crises of the 1970s, and ask whether oil could determine how and when the war ends.

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Photo: 3D-printed oil pump jacks, Iranian flag, and a rising stock graph appear in this illustration. Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo