Oil Prices Hold Above $100 as Iran Tightens Grip on Strait of Hormuz
Brent remains above the key threshold after Iran reports attacks on vessels and expands its maritime “prohibited zone”
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Oil prices remained above $100 a barrel on Thursday after Iran reported attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and expanded restrictions on shipping beyond the strategic waterway, raising fresh concerns over disruptions to global energy supplies.
Brent crude futures were trading around $101.34 a barrel in early Asian trade, while US West Texas Intermediate crude stood at about $96.55. Brent had breached the $100 threshold on Wednesday for the first time since July as the latest escalation between Iran and the United States heightened fears of prolonged disruption to oil flows.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that they had attacked two US vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other vessels that it described as “non-compliant” near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the actions were part of its response to US attacks on Iranian oil tankers.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) separately reported that several merchant vessels in the Northern Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman had been subjected to disabling fire amid ongoing military activity in the region.
The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies, has seen traffic fall sharply since the conflict began. The disruption has become a central concern for energy markets as both Washington and Tehran have intensified military operations around the waterway.
Iran also announced Wednesday that it was expanding a maritime “prohibited zone” beyond the Strait of Hormuz into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said vessels entering the area without coordination would be subject to Iranian “sanctions,” with the exact coordinates of the zone to be announced later.
US President Donald Trump said oil prices would fall once the United States wins the war with Iran, arguing that Washington controls the Strait of Hormuz.
“Oil will be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran,” Trump told Republicans in Texas. He also repeated his suggestion that the waterway should be renamed the “Trump Strait.”
Trump said Wednesday that the conflict could end after the US midterm elections in November, arguing that Iran “can’t hold out any longer.” However, US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal reportedly warned that the war could continue through the remaining two years of Trump's term.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards also said they had struck a US military base in Jordan in response to US forces destroying Iranian oil tankers. Jordan's military said it intercepted 18 missiles fired toward the kingdom.
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks on its oil tankers as “an overt threat to regional and international peace and security,” while describing attacks on US military facilities in the region as an act of self-defense.
The United States has said its recent military actions were carried out in response to Iranian attacks targeting American forces and warships.
The Revolutionary Guards said the conflict could end if Washington met a series of Iranian demands, including an end to US threats, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, an end to the blockade of Yemen, the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets and a commitment not to interfere with Iran's nuclear and missile programs.
Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure on Tehran has also intensified. The International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors voted Wednesday to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over what it described as Iranian nuclear “non-compliance.” The resolution passed by 23 votes to three, with eight abstentions, while Russia, China and Niger voted against it.
Iran's representative to the UN nuclear watchdog rejected the resolution, saying it had been adopted under US pressure and would produce no results.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, repeated his assessment that Iran's government was nearing collapse.
During a visit to Israeli troops in southern Syria on Wednesday, Netanyahu said the main task was to bring down what he called Iran's “terror regime” and that Israel was “very close” to achieving that goal.
The latest escalation has reinforced concerns that prolonged disruption around Hormuz could keep energy prices elevated. Reuters reported that oil flows through the waterway remain well below prewar levels, while analysts warn that continued attacks on shipping could cause deeper disruptions to global supplies.