Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked at least three commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on July 7, sending oil prices up more than 2% and reminding the world that the most important chokepoint in global energy can become a war zone with very little warning.
Among the targets was the Qatari-flagged LNG tanker Al Rekayyat, which caught fire after a projectile struck its engine room. No casualties were immediately reported.
A peace deal that lasted about three weeks
The attacks came roughly three weeks after the US and Iran inked a memorandum of understanding specifically designed to prevent this kind of hostility. The MoU was supposed to de-escalate tensions that have been building since US and Israeli military strikes hit Iran on February 28, 2026.
Iran responded to those strikes by declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed in early March. Since then, Tehran has threatened or targeted dozens of vessels passing through the waterway. The strait handles roughly 20-25% of global oil and LNG trade.
