Two Tankers Hit Hormuz Mines as US and Iran Trade Strikes, Brent Nears $100

The United States and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes overnight Tuesday, deepening a six-month-old conflict that has kept the Strait of Hormuz in turmoil and is now pushing Brent crude toward $100 a barrel. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers were disabled after striking naval mines while attempting to transit the strait, and Iran announced retaliatory strikes against regional targets in response to U.S. military action. U.S. Central Command confirmed launching a new wave of attacks against IRGC targets, with officials saying roughly 100 targets were hit during the overnight operation.

The strikes follow a Sunday U.S. attack on rocket launchers on Iran's Larak Island, which CENTCOM said were being prepared to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the shipping lane. Tehran responded with missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan, which were intercepted, and the UAE said it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters. President Trump threatened further retaliation, and the White House is reported to have approved a new "tanker for tanker" policy, marking the first time U.S. forces have struck Iranian tankers in direct retaliation rather than solely to prevent blockade violations.

The escalation has shattered near-term hopes for a deal to reopen Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply normally flows. Oil prices extended gains after holding at more than one-month highs, with Brent on a trajectory toward $100. Diesel crack spreads hit record highs as the global fuel squeeze deepened, and European natural gas prices broke above Iran-war highs to reach their strongest level since 2023. LNG traffic through Hormuz remains at a standstill, though Qatar and the UAE have begun rare ship-to-ship cargo transfers outside the strait, with three LNG carriers completing such transfers in the past month as operators seek workarounds for cargoes that are far harder to shuttle than crude oil.

India faces mounting delivery complications as the disruptions ripple across oil shipment routes, and the broader conflict is redrawing global energy trade patterns six months after fighting began. Tanker stocks and freight markets are signaling divergent assessments of how long the crisis persists, while European governments are racing to refill gas storage ahead of winter.