US-Iran Strikes Escalate Over Hormuz as Oil Nears $100

Global energy markets face renewed pressure as Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel for the first time since May while the United States and Iran traded strikes for a 13th consecutive night over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas in normal times; its disruption has already forced rerouting and higher costs for importers in Europe and Asia.

U.S. Central Command stated that its latest strikes, completed shortly before 5 a.m. local time Friday, targeted Iranian military command centers, drone storage sites, communications networks, coastal surveillance posts and maritime capabilities. Iranian state media reported explosions in Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Isfahan province and other locations, with four deaths and at least nine injuries attributed to the attacks. The same outlets said Iran launched retaliatory drone strikes on U.S. positions in Bahrain and Jordan; Bahrain activated air-raid sirens and urged residents to shelter.

The immediate trigger for the current round of fighting is a collapsed June memorandum of understanding. Iran maintains the accord recognized its authority to manage and potentially toll traffic through the strait; the United States insists the text committed both sides to unrestricted freedom of navigation. Maritime traffic continues under U.S. escort, according to Central Command, but Iran has attacked vessels using the protected route.

President Trump said on social media that any damage to commercial ships would be paid from Iranian assets frozen under U.S. sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi replied that confiscating another nation’s funds to settle unrelated claims sets a dangerous precedent. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi traveled to Tehran on Thursday to urge dialogue; he had met Trump in Washington earlier in the month.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis separately struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, raising the prospect of a second chokepoint closing. Trump warned that further Houthi attacks would bring “major military punishment” on both the Houthis and Iran. Oil prices rose more than 6 percent on the combined threats.

The United States has conducted nightly strikes for nearly two weeks. Iran has responded with drones and missiles aimed at shipping and at U.S. and allied facilities in the Gulf. No independent confirmation exists for claims of more than 35 strikes on Ahvaz or for a specific Trump statement that he is preparing a “massive attack bigger than ever before.” Both assertions appeared in single-outlet reporting and were not corroborated elsewhere.