The US carried out fresh air strikes in Iran and revoked the waiver that let Tehran sell crude, sending Brent up more than 3% after renewed tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation puts the interim US-Iran peace deal at risk and revives fears of disruption to global energy supplies.
Washington struck back at Iran on Wednesday, launching fresh air strikes and stripping away the sanctions waiver that had allowed Tehran to sell oil on world markets. The US Treasury Department revoked Iran-related General License X, which had authorized the production, delivery and sale of Iranian crude under the interim agreement with Tehran. The response followed a spate of attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz.
Why Washington reversed course
The waiver had been a key element of the interim peace deal struck with the Islamic Republic, so revoking it marks a sharp turn. It came after a series of attacks on vessels transiting the strait, including a Qatari LNG carrier and a Saudi oil tanker. US Central Command said its forces began strikes to impose heavy costs for the attacks on shipping.
Tehran signaled it would not stand down. Explosions were heard on an island close to the strait, and Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would respond. According to Anadolu, a US official called Iran's actions in the strait "wholly unacceptable" to Washington.
A chokepoint back in focus
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints, carrying large volumes of crude, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas through a narrow waterway. In peacetime it handled about a fifth of the daily global trade in oil. Control of the passage is one of the main points of disagreement between Washington and Tehran, and on July 7 Iran told the UN's shipping agency it has authority over parts of the waterway.
The renewed fighting has fed straight into energy markets. Brent rose more than 3.3% to $76.6 per barrel as of 0600GMT, and the benchmark has surged more than 6% this week. The move is a sharp reversal from earlier expectations of a supply glut, after OPEC+ raised production quotas and Middle Eastern producers sought to ramp up output. Now the rebound threatens a new wave of disruption for global energy markets, a shift that puts how to trade oil and wider geopolitical risk back in focus.
Sources: Anadolu Ajansı, The Straits Times
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