Oil ticks up as US army resumes strikes on Iran again
Brent crude’s price has moved dangerously close to $95/bbl threshold, after the US army resumed air assaults on Iranian targets.
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The US Central Command (CENTCOM) completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets yesterday, it said on social media platform X.
The US CENTCOM struck Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets including air defense sites, maritime assets, mine laying capabilities, and more, it said.
“The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members,” CENTCOM added.
The development has put upward pressure on crude oil prices, as the total number of commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz still remains well below pre-war levels.
As of yesterday, 13 vessels attempted to transit the strait – six inbound, seven outbound – market intelligence provider Windward reported. Three vessels were operating with their AIS tracking transmitters disabled.
Iran’s military responded to the strikes by warning that “American evil in the region will be met with heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses, and any country that cooperates with the aggressive American army must accept its dangerous consequences,” Reuters reported.
Two oil tankers came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz this week, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported earlier.
Bloomberg has identified the vessels as one very large crude carrier (VLCC) operated by Saudi Arabian shipping company Bahri and another tanker, Senegal Prosperity, operated by South Korea’s tanker fleet firm Sinokor.
Three sanctioned tankers – SIMBA V, TRIDENT II and ATHENA – have held position for at least 30 days in the Persian Gulf, Windward reported.
“As of 31 August, the South East Hormuz anchorage held 40 stationary vessels above 50 meters, 29 of them without an active AIS signal,” the market intelligence provider said.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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