Mike Pompeo Just Ended Any Hopes for Iranian Oil

The chances of President Donald Trump easing sanctions on Iran’s oil exports have dropped to zero after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry that his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has pinned on Tehran. The bigger challenge now will be reining in the U.S. hawks calling for retaliatory strikes on Iran’s energy industry facilities.

Before this weekend the big political news dominating the oil market was the sudden departure of John Bolton as Trump’s hardline national security adviser. His leaving raised hopes (or fears, depending on your point of view) that waivers from sanctions might be reinstated for some buyers of Iranian crude; there was talk even of Trump meeting with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani later this month.