Generic Hero BannerGeneric Hero Banner
Latest market news

US, Iran exchange strikes after Hormuz impasse: Update

  • Märkte: Crude oil, Freight, Natural gas
  • 01.09.26

Updates with details throughout

US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes on Tuesday, following apparent Iranian attacks on Saudi tankers attempting to transit through the strait of Hormuz.

US strikes targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) installations beginning at 12pm ET (16:00 GMT) on Tuesday, said the US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees Middle East-based US forces.

The US strikes hit targets on Qeshm island in the strait of Hormuz and near Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, according to the IRGC-affiliated Iranian news agency Tasnim. IRGC said it launched missile and drone attacks against US bases in Jordan and Bahrain and claimed that an Iranian missile hit resulted in casualties at a Jordan-based US base. Centcom did not confirm the Iranian claim.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to retaliate at "a much harder and higher level" in response to the Iranian attacks on US bases. Trump told Fox News that the US strikes on Tuesday targeted the recently-rebuilt Iranian radar installations, according to the US network's account of the interview that the White House confirmed.

October Nymex WTI rose by almost 6pc to $90.22/bl on Tuesday following the resumption of US-Iranian strikes.

Centcom said the Tuesday attacks were a retaliation after two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) carrying Saudi crude were involved in separate security incidents in the strait of Hormuz.

The US and Iran exchanged strikes on Monday for the first time in more than a month. The US said it had taken "limited, precise action" against Iran's IRGC minelaying forces on Larak island in Hormuz, while the IRGC said it retaliated with ballistic missile attacks against US bases in Jordan.

The Pentagon cited the IRGC attack on the US base in Jordan on Monday as an additional justification for the US military action on Tuesday.

Iran's ability to target ships passing through Hormuz counters recent US claims of having decisively eliminated Tehran's military threat and of enabling an increase in oil exports through the critical Mideast Gulf waterway.

Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz remained low on Monday, according to data from maritime security firm Windward.

Trump on Monday "officially" declared Iran a "failed nation", citing the supposed destruction of its military potential. Trump said last week that the US military removed all Iranian mines in the strait of Hormuz. But on Tuesday, he said that he ordered US strikes "in retaliation for the Iranians' failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!)".

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministerial in North Carolina on Tuesday, likewise described Iran as "militarily crushed" and said that the US was prioritizing its naval blockade and new economic sanctions against Iran to bring pressure on Iran.

Bessent at the same time downplayed the importance of Hormuz. "In two years, the strait of Hormuz will be like a worthless piece of water," he said, citing projects by Mideast Gulf states to diversify exports from the region by pipelines.

Earlier Tuesday Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said the country would immediately reciprocate if the US returns to its commitments under an interim agreement reached in June. Tehran has repeatedly linked the restoration of free navigation through the strait of Hormuz to US implementation of the June agreement.


Teilen
Generic Hero Banner

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more