Trump orders bank to provide 'political risk insurance and guarantees' for maritime trade amid Iran war

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has ordered the US International Development Finance Corporation to grant sweeping insurance and unspecified "guarantees" for maritime trade amid an escalating US and Israeli war against Iran.

"Effective immediately, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the financial security of all maritime trade, especially energy, traveling through the Gulf," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"This will be available to all shipping lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the free flow of energy to the world," he added.

The US president said he would announce additional actions at a later date. The DFC is a US government development bank.

Energy prices have surged since Trump and Israel launched attacks across Iran that have eliminated senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beginning in the early morning hours of Saturday.

Iran has retaliated with sweeping barrages of its own that have targeted US bases, diplomatic facilities and military personnel across the region, as well as multiple Israeli cities. The attacks have continued to escalate.

Oil prices were already trending higher before the strikes. On Feb. 27, Brent crude closed up 2.8% at $73 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 2.6% to $67.17.

With markets closed Feb. 28 and March 1, reports of US-Israeli strikes on Iran prevented an immediate price reaction. But an accumulated geopolitical risk premium materialized in a sharp opening at the start of the week.

On March 2, Brent jumped 7.1% to close at $78.15, while WTI rose 6.2% to $71.33, pushing oil prices to recent highs.

Later in the day, remarks by Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, a senior adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander-in-chief, claiming that vessel and oil tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz had been halted and warning that ships attempting passage would be targeted, intensified concerns about deeper supply disruptions.

The statement, delivered during relatively thin global trading hours March 2, drove Brent to test $80.80 in early Asian trading, marking its highest in nearly 15 months.