Brent Crude Surges to $87 as Trump's Iran Strategy Fuels Global Inflation Fears

Global energy markets experienced a severe shock on Tuesday as oil prices surged over 5 percent, driving Brent crude, the international benchmark, to firmly above $87 per barrel.

The massive four-day rally has erased hopes of cooling energy costs, fueled entirely by intense geopolitical brinkmanship between the United States and Iran over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump is attempting to leverage Iran's domestic economic crisis into sweeping regional concessions, with new diplomatic and financial demands issued to Tehran.

The White House strategy appears designed to maximize pressure on Tehran at a moment of profound internal vulnerability, characterized by crushing inflation and heavily depleted state coffers.