Photo caption: Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
*US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island
*IRGC says it attacked two US air bases in Jordan, media reports
*Trump says the US will use Venezuelan oil to replenish its SPR
Oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday after the U.S. attacked an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran said it had retaliated, as their conflict extended into its sixth month.
According to Reuters report, Brent crude futures were up $2.87, or 3.26%, to $90.97 a barrel at 1120 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.91, or 3.49%, to $86.31.
U.S. forces struck two launchers on Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first known American strikes on the country since late July.
In response, Iran attacked two U.S. air bases in Jordan, Iranian media reported on Monday, citing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
“Renewed military strikes in the Middle East and concerns of further oil supply disruptions have lifted oil prices,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that markets will focus on whether the situation de-escalates or not.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island was being “blown to smithereens”, but there was no evidence the island was under attack. The post, which included an AI-generated video, provided no further details. Iran denied any attack on the island and said oil operations were continuing.
Negotiations to end the conflict are at an impasse while mediators work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flowed before the war began at the end of February.
“We see more chances of contained confrontation rather than any sustained escalation in the conflict. What continues to be impacted with every flare up are the timelines for Hormuz ‘reopening’,” said Suvro Sarkar, head of energy research at DBS.
“We were earlier hoping that we could be back to deal negotiations for U.S.-Iran by the end of 3Q, but that is looking more unlikely now. Thus, expect oil prices to remain rangebound in the $85-95 per barrel range unless more clarity emerges on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The number of visible commodity vessels that sailed through the strait over the weekend dropped to five a day, shipping data showed on Monday, reflecting caution among companies wary of attacks on ships.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported on Sunday that a tanker was struck by a projectile while sailing inbound through the strait on Saturday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday that the U.S. is likely to issue new secondary sanctions weekly on Iran.
Brent and WTI are set to post small declines in August after falling more than 4% last week, in what was their first weekly decline in three.
Trump said on Sunday that oil from a recently struck deal with Venezuela will be used to replenish the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has dropped near its lowest level in 44 years.
