Oil Tops $100 as Iran Hits 10 Ships in Hormuz Retaliation

Iran retaliated for the US sinking five of its tankers by attacking ships near Hormuz, pushing Brent crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

US Central Command said Tuesday it struck and destroyed five Iranian oil tankers — four in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island — after the Revolutionary Guard tried to hit a Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice in two days. The warship evaded the attacks and no American personnel were harmed, and crews were ordered to abandon ship before the vessels were rendered inoperable. Iran retaliated within hours, with the IRGC claiming it attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, plus a US air base in Jordan. US officials denied any Navy warship was struck.

Brent crude crossed $100 a barrel Wednesday for the first time since July, as markets weighed fresh disruption to the strait that carried about a fifth of the world's oil before the war. The spike is politically dangerous for President Trump ahead of November's midterms: Time reports the average US retail diesel price hit an all-time high of $5.94 on Wednesday, and that strategic petroleum reserves stand at their lowest levels since 1982. Goldman Sachs's Daan Struyven told CNBC, according to Time, that oil could rise above $120 a barrel if hostilities continue.

Iran's retaliation stretched the war geographically for the first time in this round: Jordan's military said its air defenses intercepted 18 of 20 ballistic missiles fired toward US-linked targets, with two falling in unpopulated areas and no casualties reported. The IRGC also declared a new maritime 'prohibited zone' extending from Chabahar into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea for the first time, with coordinates to be announced, and warned tanker crews near Kuwait and Bahrain to evacuate. Iran warned that for every two or three tankers struck, it would respond by hitting 20.

The strikes produced the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began. The Guardian reports at least one sailor was killed and another was missing in the tanker attacks off the UAE coast. UK Maritime Trade Operations said several vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf were subject to disabling fire, and a tanker in Iraqi waters carrying two million barrels of fuel oil was hit by a drone, with no casualties or reported oil leaks, according to Iraqi officials. CENTCOM said all attempted IRGC attacks on US warships failed; the IRGC, unverified, claimed significant damage to two US destroyers.

The exchange confirmed a newly explicit US doctrine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Colombia: 'Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers.' The administration paired the strikes with aviation sanctions targeting more than two dozen Iranian commercial and private airlines and foreign cargo providers under Operation Economic Outcast. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that anyone doing business with Iran's remaining airlines risks being cut off from the global financial system.

Both sides are signaling further escalation rather than de-escalation. Iran says it will release maps of its enlarged exclusion zone and continue targeting vessels that transit Hormuz without permission, while Washington maintains its naval blockade and a US-escorted transit route off Oman. The conflict is also spreading regionally: Iran-aligned Houthis attacked four Saudi cities, causing fires at oil installations and, per Saudi officials, injuring 73 people, and Saudi Arabia vowed it would not hesitate to defend itself. Analysts warn the tit-for-tat logic leaves no off-ramp for the strait itself.