Iran Claims Kuwait Strikes as Oil Firms Post Record Profits

Tensions between the United States and Iran have produced two clear results: unverified Iranian claims of new attacks on American facilities in Kuwait and sharply higher second-quarter earnings for major oil companies. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to commercial traffic after six months of conflict, cutting a route that once carried one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies. Brent crude averaged $92.45 per barrel from April through June, up 27 percent from the prior quarter, according to company filings and market data.

ExxonMobil reported $14.5 billion in net income for the quarter, double the year-ago figure, while Chevron posted $12 billion, nearly four times its prior result. Both companies attributed gains to higher realized prices and strong refining margins. U.S. refineries operated near capacity and benefited from diesel and jet-fuel crack spreads that reached $50–$60 per barrel, well above the historical $20–$25 range, according to energy finance analysts at Texas Christian University and the University of Tennessee. Production records were set in the Permian Basin and U.S. Gulf Coast facilities.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated it struck U.S. assets at Kuwait’s Ahmad Al-Jaber airbase and earlier at Ali Al Salem Air Base using drones, describing the actions as retaliation for American strikes on Qeshm island that killed three civilians. No U.S., Kuwaiti, or independent confirmation of damage or casualties at the Kuwait sites has been reported. CENTCOM has not commented on the Kuwait claims. The same Iranian statements linked the actions to prior U.S. strikes on IRGC targets inside Iran.

Consumer costs rose in parallel. Average U.S. regular gasoline reached $4.11 per gallon. Lawmakers introduced windfall-profit tax proposals that would apply a 50 percent excise on the difference between current prices and 2025 averages for large producers and importers. European oil majors recorded first-quarter profits 43 percent above the prior year, according to Global Witness data.

The central unresolved question is whether the reported Kuwait strikes occurred and whether further geographic expansion will follow. Diplomatic efforts involving Gulf states continue alongside the military exchanges, but no agreement has halted the cycle of announced actions and supply constraints.