The US Treasury Department pulled the plug on Iran’s temporary license to sell oil and petrochemical products on July 7, just 15 days after granting it. The trigger: attacks on three commercial vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes daily.
Oil prices responded the way oil prices tend to respond when someone starts shooting near the world’s most important shipping lane. Crude surged approximately 5-6% on the news.
What happened and why it matters
The general license was originally issued on June 22, 2026, as part of an interim US-Iran memorandum of understanding designed to de-escalate months of conflict that had been building since February.
The attacks targeted a Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi crude tanker, among other vessels, disrupting commercial navigation in Omani waters. US officials linked the incidents directly to Iran and called them a significant violation of the memorandum of understanding.
