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US Oil Update: Crudes Falls as US Shifts to Sanctions, Hormuz Demining Claims

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Crude futures retreated in midday trading on Tuesday as markets weighed the impact of the US sanctions campaign against Iran, as President Trump claimed that all water mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or detonated.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled by 3.3% to $82.18 per barrel, while Brent futures were down 3.4% to $82.14/bbl.

Saxo Bank strategists said that with no further military escalation and some tankers slipping through the Strait of Hormuz after buying heavily discounted oil to compensate for elevated transit risk, the market remains in limbo.

President Trump said on Tuesday that the US Navy had removed or detonated all mines in the Hormuz and warned Iran that any attempt to lay new mines would trigger an immediate military response.

"Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump's Hormuz demining remarks come as the US intensified economic pressure on Iran on Monday but fell short of imposing secondary sanctions on Tehran's trading partners.

Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Research, said that the US is threatening Iran with economic destruction via sanctions, but China, the leading buyer of Iranian crude, is strongly opposed to sanctions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled what he called an "unprecedented" Washington campaign to sever Tehran from the global economy on Monday, warning that any state doing business with the country risks facing US sanctions.

However, Secretary Bessent said that countries will face a specific timeline to shut down links with Iran or face unilateral punishment.

Iranian officials condemned the US sanctions campaign, with Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf saying Washington lacks the economic leverage to further restrict Tehran's relations with other countries.

Ghalibaf posted on X on Monday that the US is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries.

The US sanction campaign against Iran comes as mediators are continuing efforts to end the Middle East conflict.

Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi arrived in Iran on Tuesday, where he met his Iranian counterpart to discuss future arrangements for the strait.

Oman and Iran have agreed to work toward restoring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, including the creation of a temporary joint navigational corridor and a project to clear mines at key energy chokepoints.

Meanwhile, threats to energy flows remain elevated, with the UK Maritime Trade Operations reporting on Monday that an oil tanker was struck and disabled by a projectile off the Omani coast, in the strait.

On Monday, the UKMTO reported an attack on a tanker 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire on the main deck.

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Oil & Energy

US Oil Update: Crude Falls as Markets Weigh US Economic Pressure on Iran

Crude futures retreated in after-hours trading on Monday after the US unveiled a package of secondary sanctions against Iran, aimed at severing the country's global economic lifelines.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 2.4% to $84.97 per barrel, while Brent futures were down 2.5% to $92.04/bbl.Rystad Energy strategists said on Monday that the latest US measures against Iran are unlikely to significantly deepen the hit to the country's oil revenues unless Washington succeeds in persuading China to curb purchases.Trump's administration on Monday rolled out a global sanctions package focused on Iran. The US indicated that China would not be exempt from the strategy, dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast."US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday unveiled an "unprecedented" Washington campaign to sever Tehran from the global economy, warning that any state doing business with the country risks facing US sanctions."We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Secretary Bessent said.Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning over 60 entities, individuals and vessels worldwide over Iran's procurement of nuclear and missile technology, cyber operations and oil revenue.Bessent said the campaign targets five sectors that the US Treasury identified as vital to Iran's economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.Iran has condemned the US economic onslaught, with Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps spokesman warning Washington of heavy strategic blows to its energy bottlenecks and vital interests."Today, America has well understood that if it implements its threats against Iran's infrastructure, it will face heavy strategic blows to its energy bottlenecks and vital interests," IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.Mohebbi said targeting or threatening individuals would not disrupt Iran's administration because the country's political system rests on strong ties between the government and its people.Gelber & Associates strategists said that the pullback does not mark a return to normal conditions, however, as traffic through the strait remains well below prewar levels and the next round of US sanctions could quickly restore volatility.Meanwhile, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday it had blacklisted 45 tankers for violating its transit rules in the Hormuz, noting that the vessels could face penalties, including "fines, seizure, or confiscation" during future passages.Commercial vessel traffic through the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb remained resilient last week, the latest data from Kpler showing 121 crossings, a 2.5% increase from 118 the previous week, while Bab el-Mandeb reported 269 crossings, up 3.1%.

Oil & Energy

Hormuz Traffic Holds Up as Tanker Attack Reported Off Saudi Arabia

Commercial vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb edged higher last week, but a decline in laden vessels and an increase in sanctioned crossings via the Hormuz point to growing risks for commercial shipping, maritime data showed on Monday.The latest data from Kpler shows that 121 vessels crossed the Hormuz last week, a 2.5% increase, but laden transits fell 27%, suggesting that the increase in headline traffic was not matched by a similar level of commercial activity.The marine data platform said that sanctioned crossings through the strategic waterway rose to 16 from nine, while the use of Iran's unilateral routing scheme climbed to 46.3% of crossings.US-Iran tensions have escalated in the aftermath of a new sanctions campaign announced by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.Additionally, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly said Monday that the US is ready to use military force against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz if needed.In remarks to reporters, Hegseth reportedly said that the US is not "foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran."Meanwhile, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Sunday it had blacklisted 45 tankers for violating its transit rules in the Hormuz, noting that the vessels could face penalties, including "fines, seizure, or confiscation" during future passages.The restricted list includes very large crude carriers, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers, and clean product vessels, among others.Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported an attack on a tanker 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire on the main deck.The UKMTO said there had been no confirmed attacks or disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz after 48 hours on Sunday.Commercial traffic remained at reduced levels, with independent tracking data showing single-digit numbers of vessels transiting in both directions.There was also an ongoing risk from drifting or uncharted mines in and near the traffic separation scheme, with mine danger areas still active, according to the maritime security assessment.The UKMTO said no confirmed attack or disruption had been reported during the latest period, although commercial traffic through the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remained below normal levels.The agency said that reduced traffic is consistent with a pattern established after the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, following earlier confirmed attacks on vessels in the region.For oil and gas markets, the divergent traffic patterns at the two chokepoints highlight the difficulty of assessing supply-chain risks from aggregate vessel counts alone.

Oil & Energy

US Treasury Targets Iran-Linked Entities Over Hormuz 'Safe Passage,' Expands Secondary Sanctions

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Monday issued a statement warning that shippers, insurers, and financial firms risk sanctions for engaging with three Iran-linked entities that demand "safe passage" tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, even if no payment changes hands.The alert updated the May 1 guidance and names the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority.PGSA was earlier designated on May 27 for allegedly aiding Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while both the PGMIC and Hormuz Safe were designated on July 29 to operate in Iran's financial sector.OFAC said toll demands could come disguised as charitable donations, digital assets, offsets or government swaps, not just cash.US persons are generally prohibited from transacting with Iran, the IRGC or Iranian digital asset exchanges. Non-US firms also face exposure to secondary sanctions and could be held liable if their payments cause US insurers or banks to breach sanctions.The move comes as part of a broader sanctions campaign, dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast," announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.Treasury broadened the scope of potential secondary sanctions to cover digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, giving OFAC greater reach against foreign Iran-linked activity.The campaign also included nearly 60 new designations of entities, individuals and vessels.Treasury also warned about sanctions risks for companies that comply with Iran's shipping demands in the Strait of Hormuz, as it continues to track oil-smuggling and revenue networks.Treasury said Iran's oil-smuggling network spans brokers, shipping firms, bunkering providers and financial intermediaries across the UAE, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland and Europe.The network helps transport Iranian crude to East Asian markets and channel oil revenue to the IRGC-Qods Force and other regime-linked entities.Treasury designated UAE-based Syrian national Mohammad Ahmed Suhil Fattouh for supporting the National Iranian Oil Company, Al-Qatirji Company and Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company through shadow fleet brokerage.The agency also sanctioned UAE-based Amdeh Ship Management and Operation over its Iran-related activities.Treasury designated UAE-based Ukrainian national Ivan Obukhov for supporting IRGC-Qods Force oil sales, including through cryptocurrency payments, and sanctioned UAE-based Foscom, which he owns and manages.Treasury designated Singapore-based Azure Shipping and Singapore-based Mansoor Tayabbhai Gandhi for petroleum-sector activity after Azure worked with National Iranian Tanker Company on ship-to-ship services. It also sanctioned Gandhi-linked Arc Chartering and Sky Oil and Gas Asia.Treasury designated Hong Kong-based Shipoil, Dubai-based Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC for bunkering services while coordinating with National Iranian Tanker, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Commercial Company, Triliance Petrochemical and Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.The agency also designated UAE-based Unique Oasis Shipping Services and Target Horizon Shipping for supporting Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, including through hundreds of thousands of dollars in bunkering services.The Treasury designated Georgios Tsoris and the UAE-based Good Luck Shipping for supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, while Almpertos Tsoris also faced sanctions for operating in Iran's petroleum sector.Treasury designated Singapore-based Wellbred Capital for acting on behalf of or being owned or controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, while UAE-based Wellbred Trading and Switzerland-based Wellbred Trading faced designations over their links to Wellbred Capital.Treasury also designated France-based La Nivernaise de Raffinage for its ownership or control link to Switzerland-based Wellbred Trading SA.Treasury designated Marshall Islands-based Sifra Shipping and Hong Kong-based Vienna Shipping for operating in Iran's petroleum sector after their tankers transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian LPG, ethylene and petroleum products.Treasury also designated Hong Kong-based Riqueza Group and China-based Lilimoon Navigation for the same reason after their tankers transported millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China.UK-based Estanica Trading was also designated for operating in Iran's petroleum sector.