Trump Extends Pause on Iran Energy Strikes Amid Surging Global Economic Costs

President Donald Trump has extended a pause on threats to strike Iranian energy infrastructure through April 6, responding to intensifying global economic pressure and the U.S. stock market's worst single-day drop of the war on March 27. The decision comes as the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meet in France to address the escalating hostilities, which have significantly disrupted global trade and energy security. The conflict has caused a historic collapse in maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed in early March. Daily transits have plummeted from 135 to just 10 vessels following a series of Iranian attacks on civilian shipping, including a March 1 strike on the tanker Skylight that resulted in two fatalities. Experts note that this disruption is undermining the decades-old "oil for security" arrangement between the U.S. and Gulf states, as regional allies begin to view American military bases as targets rather than stabilizers. On the domestic front, economic indicators continue to worsen with the OECD projecting inflation in G20 countries will rise 1.2% higher than December estimates. Amidst the military tension, a federal judge has indefinitely blocked a Pentagon effort to designate the AI company Anthropic as a supply chain risk over alleged Iran-related concerns, calling the move "Orwellian." The ruling provides a one-week window for the Trump administration to appeal.