Trump says he is close to deciding whether to "annihilate" Iran's government as a second tanker is hit in Hormuz

President Donald Trump said he is approaching a decision on whether to restart major strikes aimed at destroying Iran's government, telling Axios in an interview published this week, "Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not?" He meets the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a session that will determine whether Washington escalates or makes another attempt at negotiation. No military order has been announced.

The Strait of Hormuz was attacked twice in the same period. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck and detained the Togo-flagged tanker Trend after the vessel attempted what it called an illegal passage, and said the ship had been "incited and deceived" by the United States military. Hours later the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre reported a second vessel hit by an unidentified projectile about 16 nautical miles from Khasab, Oman. The resulting fire was put out and the crew is safe. UKMTO has not said whether the two incidents are connected.

Washington's effort to assemble partners for the shipping campaign lost a significant participant. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said at a press conference that his government will not send troops or military assets in any form that draws the country into the war, while leaving open an expanded role for the Cheonghae naval unit already in the region to protect South Korean ships, crews and oil routes. A Gallup Korea poll released on September 11 found 55 percent of respondents opposed any deployment and 32 percent in favour.

The disruption keeps moving down the supply chain. QatarEnergy has extended force majeure on liquefied natural gas deliveries into the autumn, telling Pakistani buyers that cancellations continue into October and extending the same treatment to customers in Bangladesh and Europe. Pakistan is among the hardest hit, Dawn reported, and analysts there argue the country should rely more on renewables and domestic coal because Qatar and the United Arab Emirates supply most of its imported gas. Europe faces a different exposure: the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that Qatar supplied 12 to 14 percent of Europe's liquefied natural gas, most of it routed through Hormuz. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Rome will send its navy to escort Italian commercial vessels through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait rather than wait for a joint European Union decision, according to Al Jazeera.

Oil traders are pricing the threat of escalation lower, not higher. Brent fell about 2.1 percent to roughly $103.61 a barrel on Thursday and traded near $102 on Friday, a third consecutive decline, after Saudi Arabia indicated it could restore about half the capacity of its damaged East-West pipeline within days and began moving crude to Asian buyers by ship-to-ship transfer outside the strait, CNBC reported. Importers cannot plan around a possibility. Japan, which turned to imported fuel after 2011, is finding its nuclear restart programme delayed again by scandals and accidents, The Japan Times reported, which leaves it buying gas in the same tight market.