Crude oil prices moved toward $89 per barrel on Thursday, recovering part of the previous session’s losses after reports that the Trump administration had directed the Pentagon to draw up strike options against Iran that could be executed before the midterm elections. This development runs counter to the widespread assumption that President Donald Trump would avoid heightening tensions with Tehran ahead of the November vote. At the same time, oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico shut in more than 510,000 barrels per day of crude—about a quarter of the region’s output—because of Tropical Storm Isaias. In the Middle East, oil exports have been gradually returning to prewar levels in recent weeks, even as ongoing attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz continue to pose supply risks. Iranian-backed Houthi forces also struck targets in Saudi Arabia, prompting a new round of retaliatory airstrikes by the Riyadh-led coalition on positions in Yemen.