Published July 8th, 2026 - 08:10 GMT
ALBAWABA - Oil prices surged more than six percent on Wednesday and continue to trend upward as the U.S. and Iran renew strikes on each other.It seems that the war will not be over quickly as major breaches of the MoU took place on Wednesday, it started when Iran hit three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a Qatari LNG tanker named ‘Al Rekayyat’, along with a Saudi Supertanker ‘Wedyan’, and another unidentified vessel.There has been no official statement from Iran on why it hit those tankers as it has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, though some speculate that the reason was that the tankers did not use Iran’s northern corridor in the Strait of Hormuz to transit, others say that the Qatari tanker came too close to Iranian Navy teams clearing mines in the strait.Whatever the reason, the U.S. reply was swift. First the U.S. revoked the sanction waiver on Iran, the waiver that allowed them to trade oil freely through the Strait without using a shadow fleet. This was enough to cause prices to soar on its own. However, it didn’t stop there.Next, the U.S. hit over 80 military targets in southern Iran, targeting the small boats that Iran used in order “to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce,” according to the U.S.BREAKING: US announces it has hit over 80 targets with precision munitions in tonight's strikes on Iran, including more than 60 IRGC speed boats in and near the Strait of Hormuz, per CENTCOM.US strikes also targeted Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks,… pic.twitter.com/bUEkJGo374— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) July 8, 2026 In response to this, Iran targeted 85 U.S. military sites in the gulf; in Bahrain and Kuwait; reasserting their claim of controlling the strait.All this led to Brent crude prices to surge to $76 a barrel - the highest level in two weeks; when before that it hovered around $72 a barrel, close to its pre-war value; the recent attacks having thrown doubts on whether the MoU ceasefire would hold between Iran and the U.S.While oil rose about six percent, the rest of the markets seemed to shrug off the war, indicating market exhaustion from the on-off relationship that the U.S. and Iran share. With most markets focusing on tech and AI rather than the repetitive gulf conflict.BREAKING: US announces it has hit over 80 targets with precision munitions in tonight's strikes on Iran, including more than 60 IRGC speed boats in and near the Strait of Hormuz, per CENTCOM.US strikes also targeted Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks,… pic.twitter.com/bUEkJGo374— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) July 8, 2026
