Oil prices climbed on Friday after Iranian officials said their forces had stopped two ships trying to exit the Strait of Hormuz and forced four other tankers to turn back, a development market participants cited as a fresh source of concern for global energy supplies after a separate drone attack on vessels at a Mediterranean Egyptian port earlier in the week.
Iran's statements that four tankers turned back and two were stopped could not be independently verified. Shipping intelligence from Kpler, which does not track vessels with transponders switched off, showed two large tankers loaded with oil from the Gulf had been recorded passing through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. Kpler data also recorded two other commodities vessels transiting the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz typically handles around one-fifth of the world's energy shipments. Iran has blocked most shipping through the Gulf Strait of Hormuz since the start of the five-month-old conflict, and its Houthi allies in Yemen this month began threatening the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea opposite the Suez Canal. Traders said the Iranian reports, following an earlier similar uncorroborated report this week, helped push oil prices up by more than 1% on the day.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were heading for a roughly 23% gain in July, and economists and analysts polled by Reuters expect prices to continue rising over the year. Market participants cited the Iranian announcements and ongoing regional tensions as key drivers of the recent price moves.
There were no reported new U.S. strikes on Iran overnight between Thursday and Friday after a marked escalation earlier in the week that included joint U.S.-Saudi strikes on Iranian-allied forces in Iraq. In a brief television statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said the war was going well. "All you can do is keep winning, then eventually something will happen," he said, without providing further detail.
Iranian control and regional military activity
A body established by Iran to manage transit through the Strait of Hormuz said on Friday that crossings remained impossible because of what it described as "continued aggressive actions by U.S. military forces in the region," Iranian state media reported. That authority said some ships had negotiated passage with Tehran, a situation that has provoked complaints from Washington. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority added that requests for transit would be reviewed and permits issued gradually once calm and stability returned.
U.S. Central Command stated on Thursday that U.S. forces continued to blockade Iranian oil exports via the Gulf and had successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes. Iran's army said it had targeted U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain on Friday in response to U.S. attacks, citing an earlier strike on a house on Qeshm, an island near the Strait of Hormuz where Iran has been striking shipping.
Kuwait's military reported it had destroyed attacking drones; it said there was some damage from falling debris but no casualties. Bahrain had not issued an immediate comment.
Shipping, insurance and alternative routes
Despite ongoing attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, northbound passages through the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline have continued to provide safe routes for Saudi energy exports via the Red Sea. However, the growing volume of Saudi oil and other cargo diverted north through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal and SUMED has consequences for Asian customers, who face longer voyages around Africa rather than the shorter path via the Gulf of Aden.
Shipping disruptions have had knock-on effects in insurance markets. London's marine insurance market widened its "high risk" zone in the Red Sea to encompass more coastline adjacent to Saudi ports after recent Houthi attacks on vessels.
Earlier this month, Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, escalating threats to shipping lanes and opening a new front in the wider conflict involving the U.S. and allied forces. In response to heightened threats to international shipping and energy supply routes, Saudi Arabia announced plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect the Red Sea region.
Unexplained Mediterranean attack and diplomatic remarks
No group has claimed responsibility for an unidentified drone strike at the Mediterranean port of Damietta in Egypt that sparked a fire on two vessels, Egypt's cabinet said on Thursday. Damietta lies more than 160 km by road west of the Suez Canal. Iran has denied any involvement in that incident.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on social media that "Egypt is an important friend and partner in the region, and its security is of utmost importance to us. We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace." Israel's prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those allegations.
Diplomatic proposals over the strait
Oman has presented Iran with a Gulf-backed plan to manage the Strait of Hormuz, proposing measures that would include collecting voluntary fees from vessels using the channel, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Iran has publicly rejected the Omani proposal, but the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying that talks with Oman about the strait were continuing.
The combination of reported Iranian interventions in the Hormuz waterway, recent attacks on merchant ships, diversions of oil flows, and changes in insurance risk classifications have together heightened concern in energy and shipping markets and helped lift oil prices. How these developments unfold depends on the pace of military actions, whether additional vessels are targeted, and the evolution of diplomatic talks over maritime management and security - factors market participants are watching closely.