A missile struck an ADNOC-affiliated tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard says the waterway reopens only on Tehran's terms. Oil rose on the day but still logged a weekly loss as traffic through the strait fell sharply.
A missile hit a tanker operated by Abu Dhabi's National Oil Company as it transited the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Saturday. ADNOC said the incident caused no injuries and that the situation has been brought under control, while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the same day that the strait will reopen only once the United States accepts Iran's conditions.
UAE condemns the strike
The United Arab Emirates said in a post on X that it condemns in the strongest terms the targeting of an ADNOC-affiliated tanker while it was passing through the strait. The attack followed a Fox News interview in which Vance said Saturday that Iran and its Gulf neighbors, particularly Oman, have discussed a traffic scheme, demining the waterway, and a commitment from Iran not to fire on commercial vessels. According to CNBC, Vance said the US would judge Iran by its actions rather than its words: "We don't trust. We verify."
Iran's draft plan would restrict transit
Sardar Mohbi, a spokesman for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said the strait's reopening depends on Iran's own mechanism and conditions and has nothing to do with the Iran-Oman negotiations. Iran and Oman are working separately on a plan under which inbound traffic would transit Iranian waters and outbound traffic would go through Omani waters. But Iranian state media published a draft plan Thursday, now under review by parliament, that would ban US and Israeli ships from the strait and bar other nations judged to have harmed Iran until they pay compensation.
Oil rises for the day, falls for the week
Ship traffic through Hormuz dropped 33% Friday versus the day before, with most vessels using the Iranian route, according to trade intelligence firm Kpler. Brent crude gained more than 1% to close at $83.55 a barrel, while WTI advanced about 1% to settle at $78.18.
Even so, both benchmarks fell more than 7% for the week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told CNBC an agreement to open Hormuz could arrive as soon as Wednesday, yet no deal has been announced. Tehran's ability to effectively close the strait has driven up gas prices and raised alarms about oil reserves since the U.S.-Iran war began Feb. 28. The disruption has also exacerbated inflation.
The conflict is broadening across the region, with Gulf energy infrastructure and key shipping choke points under renewed threat. Iran's chief negotiator accused Trump of staging theater diplomacy on Thursday, days after Trump called off planned strikes and said the outlines of a deal had already been settled with Tehran — a claim Iranian officials reject, saying no talks were underway.
Source: CNBC
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