Hormuz Tanker Attacks Lift Oil, Resurrect Inflation Risk

Two oil supertankers were struck by projectiles while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz late Monday, maritime security consultant Marisks said, reviving hostilities between the US and Iran that had ebbed for weeks. Brent crude jumped about 2% to trade above $92 a barrel on Tuesday. Concern mounted that the recovery in Hormuz shipping volumes would be derailed, Bloomberg reported.

The very large crude carrier Sidr, operated by Saudi Arabia's Bahri shipping company, was hit northeast of Khasab, Oman. The Senegal Prosperity, run by South Korea's Sinokor Group, was struck by three projectiles while traveling east of the same country. Both were exiting the Persian Gulf, Marisks said. No one claimed responsibility.

The attacks followed a resumption of tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran earlier Monday. The US said it targeted Iranian rocket launchers that were preparing to send mines into the strait, and Iran retaliated with attacks on the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. There were no reports of strikes on Tuesday.

The exchanges ended weeks of relative calm, during which the Trump administration said it was pivoting from military action to economic pressure. Oil shipments through Hormuz had recovered to roughly half of pre-war levels as a result of the dip in attacks, thanks in part to clandestine shuttle runs from major West Asian producers.

A sustained return to fighting risks driving up energy costs and inflation, which would unnerve global investors and complicate Republicans' efforts to retain control of the US Congress in November's midterm elections, the article noted. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed the importance of Hormuz on Tuesday, saying it would eventually become irrelevant due to increased use of oil pipelines. The comment appeared not to take into account the time needed to effect such a major switch in energy supply routes, and other key commodities including aluminum and fertilizer would still need to use the strait.

For Iran, a resumption in near pre-war shipping volumes risks undermining its leverage in any future peace negotiations. Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, played down the prospect of a resumption in formal talks. "Repeated US violations of commitments under the Islamabad memorandum showed that even when the parties reach a political framework to stop the conflict and begin negotiations, the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms and a return to a policy of pressure and threats can cause diplomacy to fail," he said in comments carried by the state-run IRNA.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday that mediation efforts to break the impasse are ongoing. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told leaders of the SCO he "firmly believes" the peace framework agreed upon in Islamabad in June offers the best prospect for peace. Qatar and Pakistan are the main mediators.

The US has launched a campaign to further isolate Iran, warning countries not to engage with the Islamic Republic. There has been little sign of Iran's business or trade partners responding so far, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among SCO attendees saying they wanted to strengthen relations.

The US and Iran have issued conflicting reports on safety of navigation in the strait. A top US commander declared international shipping lanes are open after American forces cleared Iranian mines. That statement has been privately doubted by US allies, Bloomberg reported last week.

The Sidr is now anchored in the middle of the strait near the Omani coast, ship-tracking data show. The tanker has been sailing dark since August 20 and was last seen off Fujairah. Senegal Prosperity was last seen laden and leaving Saudi Arabia's Juaymah in late August, before going dark.