If Trump succeeds in securing a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, it would be welcome news for energy markets, which have risen again in recent weeks amid Iran's escalation of attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, US warships, and civilian assets and infrastructure in Gulf states. Iran has also instructed its Houthi rebel allies in Yemen to launch an attack on the western coast, which ended with their seizure of the islands controlling the Bab el Mandeb Strait, through which 14 percent of global trade normally passes.
