Brent crude oil jumped as much as 9% on July 13, peaking near $83 per barrel, after President Trump announced the reinstatement of a US naval blockade targeting Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. That’s the highest level in a month, and the kind of single-day move that sends energy traders scrambling for their Bloomberg terminals and crypto markets reaching for the antacids.
The blockade targets Iranian ports and oil terminals while ostensibly allowing “fair use” passage for non-Iranian vessels. Trump also proposed a 20% toll on cargo transiting the strait, a waterway responsible for roughly one-fifth of all seaborne oil trade globally.
A blockade, lifted, then reinstated
This isn’t the first time the strait has been weaponized in 2026. The broader US-Iran conflict traces back to February, and the waterway has experienced overlapping blockades and restrictions throughout the year.
A previous US blockade of Iranian ports was lifted in mid-June after a short-lived agreement between Washington and Tehran to reopen the strait. That deal clearly didn’t stick. Iranian assertions of control over the waterway appear to have triggered the July 13 reinstatement, escalating military tensions between the two nations back to a rolling boil.
