Ed Kalecki

That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

I'm Ed Kalecki.

This is Bloomberg.

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

I'm Ed Kalecki.

President Trump says Iran's supreme leader was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, raising the stakes in a conflict that's spiraling across the oil-rich Middle East and disrupting traffic around the Hormuz shipping strait.

Trump said in a social post that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead, adding that the heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary.

Killing the ruler who dominated the Islamic Republic for more than three decades took the U.S.-Israeli campaign to quash Iran's regional power to a new level, even as Iran retaliated with strikes on U.S.

allies in the oil-rich Middle East and threatened tanker traffic through the Hormuz shipping strait.

Iran's semi-official forest news agency said Trump's claim was denied by sources close to the Supreme Leader's office.

Oil shipping has largely paused in the Strait of Hormuz that links the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the open seas after the U.S.

and Israel bombed Iran with Iranian media saying the waterway is practically closed.

Ships reported hearing a radio broadcast purporting to come from the Iranian Navy announcing that transit through the waterway was banned.

There's been no formal announcement from Tehran about the status of the strait, which is crucial for the flow of oil and gas.

But several tankers that had been heading toward Hormuz turned around in recent hours.

A large number had already paused to wait near the entrance to the waterway after the bombing started.

The disruption is impacting everything from crude oil tankers to container ships that carry furniture.

OPEC will consider a larger supply increase when key members meet Sunday following U.S.

and Israeli airstrikes on targets in Iran.

Bloomberg's Monica Ricks reports.