Hormuz | Pakistan

Oil prices surged more than three per cent on Monday after renewed military strikes between the United States and Iran reignited concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures were up $2.47, or 3.25pc, to $78.48 at 4:45pm PKT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.35, or 3.29pc, to $73.76 a barrel. “The focus will remain on the number of inbound tankers as a lower number could impact production, so currently we see a risk premium but as well a disruption risk supporting prices,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Fresh US and Iranian strikes over the weekend fueled fears of a renewed escalation. Tehran targeted US facilities across the Gulf on Sunday and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Some 20pc of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited the strait before the war began at the end of February. “Shipping operators are adopting a cautious a...

Oil prices surged over 4 per cent on Monday as energy shipments via the Strait of Hormuz remained under threat, with the US and Iran announcing renewed military strikes. Brent crude futures climbed $3.10, or 4.08pc, to $79.11 by 0325 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.95, or 4.11pc, to $74.36 a barrel. US forces completed another wave of strikes against Iran on Monday, with the Centcom saying it hit dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial traffic, although Iran declared earlier that it had closed the strait after a vessel had travelled on an unapproved route and was struck. Some 20pc of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited the strait before the war began at the end of February. Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowes...

The United States struck Iran on Monday for a second day running, drawing Tehran’s reprisals against US allies in the Gulf as the foes battle over the status of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The flare-up is the latest to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their war, which has caused global economic shockwaves since it began in late February. The latest salvo by US forces began at 2100 GMT on Sunday, Central Command (Centcom) said on X. The fresh strikes came less than 24 hours after a previous wave in which the US Centcom said 140 Iranian military targets were hit. In a subsequent post, Centcom said it had completed a new wave of “offensive strikes” against Iran, hitting “dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz”. “Centcom forces struck Iranian military air-defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small ...

The US military launched fresh strikes on Iran after the latter struck a container ship on Sunday, while Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and escalated attacks on US facilities in states across the Gulf. The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the latest barrage marked a sharp escalation in pace and range. The attacks extended to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which had not been targeted since early May, and Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April. Iran said it closed the strait after firing a warning ​shot that struck a vessel travelling on an “unauthorised route”. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response”. Iran later said it had disabled a second vessel. India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman earlier on Sunday. Oman said 23 c...

The US military launched fresh strikes on Iran after the latter struck a container ship on Sunday, while Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and escalated attacks on US facilities in states across the Gulf. The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the latest barrage marked a sharp escalation in pace and range. The attacks extended to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which had not been targeted since early May, and Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April. Iran said it closed the strait after firing a warning ​shot that struck a vessel travelling on an “unauthorised route”. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response”. Iran later said it had disabled a second vessel. India said one of its nationals was missing after an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman earlier on Sunday. Oman said 23 c...

The US military launched fresh strikes on Iran after the latter struck a container ship on Sunday ‌while Tehran said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and escalated attacks on US facilities in states across the Gulf. A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the war on Iran that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations. Iran said it closed the strait after firing a warning ​shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unapproved route. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response.” The US Central Command, however, claimed commercial ​vessels continue to transit through the waterway that carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG shipments before the war. The Central Command said US forces hit 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday, out of more than 300 during three nights of strikes “to degrade Ira...

The US military said it launched another round of strikes on Iran — the third in a week — after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a container ship travelling through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. Iranian state media has reported explosions in a number of port cities after the strikes. A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the war on Iran that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations. Iran said it closed the vital Strait of Hormuz after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel travelling on an unapproved route. It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response.” US Central Command identified the vessel as the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, saying it suffered significant engine-room damage and that a civilian crew member was missing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations...

Partial restoration of Hormuz oil flows boosts June output, but regional production below levels seen pre-conflict

The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The latest round of attacks, which the US said was carried out in response to Tuesday’s assault on three cargo ships transiting the strait, came hours after US President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be “over”. US forces said the latest attacks against Iran were aimed at “their ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, citing recent strikes against commerical ships the waterway. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The US strikes rattled several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some areas without power. The US Central Command said later they had struck approximately 90 military targets. Iran responded with a second day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US mili...

Three tankers including a Qatari LNG vessel were struck within hours in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime monitors and Qatar said on Tuesday, with peace mediator Doha denouncing an “unacceptable” Iranian attack. An “unknown projectile” hit a tanker overnight, causing a fire, before two more were hit, at least one by a drone, British maritime security agency UKMTO said. The string of attacks after more than a week of respite revived concerns about freedom of navigation after Iran lifted its blockade of the vital waterway following a fragile ceasefire with the United States. All three vessels were struck close to Oman. Oman had proposed a temporary transit corridor hugging its coastline in an initiative opposed by Iran, which wants to charge ships using the narrow waterway. Qatar, which helped broker the truce, blamed Iran for the attack on its tanker and urged Tehran to “cease all practices that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation”. “The targeting of the Qatari ...

An “unknown projectile” struck and caused a fire on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, British maritime security agency United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. The incident occurred near one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, despite a ceasefire between the United States and Iran and ongoing efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement. The maritime agency said the incident took place eight nautical miles east of Limah, Oman. “A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile on the port side causing a fire, whilst travelling southbound,” UKMTO said in a post on X. The agency said there were no reports of casualties or environmental damage. “Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the agency added, saying authorities were investigating. US news outlet Axios reported late on Monday that Iran had “fired at least two missiles at commercial ships”, citing two unnamed US officials. One of...

Opec+ has agreed a further increase in output targets from August, the group said in a statement on Sunday, adding to global supply at a time when oil prices are falling due to the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports. The oil-producing group agreed during an online meeting to increase quotas by 188,000 barrels per day from August, on top of similar increases for June and July. The seven core members of Opec+, which groups Opec and allied producers including Russia, have hiked their output quotas from April through July by almost 800,000 bpd. Yet the increase has remained largely on paper because of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which closed the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic for some of the most important Opec+ members, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. Production begins to recover Opec+ output fell to 33.13 million bpd in May, according to Opec data, from 42.77m bpd in February. It began to recover in June thanks to US efforts to help the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Op...

ISLAMABAD: After inflation rose to a fresh peak of 12pc in June, the government expects inflationary pressures to ease in the new fiscal year following the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as peace efforts gather pace. “With geopolitical tensions expected to ease following the US-Iran ceasefire, Pakistan’s economic outlook for FY2027 is expected to improve further, supported by reform continuity, stronger confidence and a more enabling pro-business environment”, said the Ministry of Finance in its Monthly Economic Update and Outlook (June 2026). It said that the recent easing of geopolitical tensions and ongoing peace efforts in the Middle East had improved global market sentiment. “Consequently, international crude oil prices had eased from their recent highs. This was expected to reduce imported inflationary pressures and help lower domestic fuel and transportation costs,” the ministry noted. While anticipating June inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), to remain within the range of 11-12...

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that any attempt to bypass the Strait of Hormuz routes agreed with the United States would “increase tensions” in the Middle East, as the countries traded attacks and accusations of violating a fragile ceasefire in the region. Araghchi’s warning came after the US military said it carried out new strikes on early Sunday on multiple targets in Iran, in response to a fresh attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran responded by launching strikes against US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. The exchanges underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered interim peace deal aimed at ending a war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, which disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and rattled global energy markets. “Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and w...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said early on Thursday that the ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) between the United States and Iran had been signed electronically by both sides. “The memorandum has been signed by honourable presidents of both the countries and also endorsed by me as the mediator. The signing of this agreement at the highest level of the respective governments demonstrates the commitment of both sides to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict,” he said in a post on the social media platform X. He added that the MoU shall “enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade”. US President Donald Trump put his signature to the memorandum of understanding during a candlelit dinner at the Palace of Versailles following a G7 summit, as host French President Emmanuel Macron and other guests applauded, a video posted by a Trump aide showed. ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said early on Thursday that the ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) between the United States and Iran had been signed electronically by both sides. “The memorandum has been signed by honourable presidents of both the countries and also endorsed by me as the mediator. The signing of this agreement at the highest level of the respective governments demonstrates the commitment of both sides to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict,” he said. He added that the MoU shall “enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade”. He offered his congratulations to US President Trump, saying his “steadfast commitment to diplomacy and preference for peaceful resolution have once again helped end a conflict that could have led to devastating consequences for the region and beyond”. He also commended the dedication and efforts of the ...

The United States on Wednesday read out the text of the interim US-Iran agreement to halt the war in Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Reuters report. The agreement, read to reporters by a senior US official, outlines in 14 points a high-level understanding that defers many of the most difficult issues, such as how to wind down Iran’s nuclear program, until a final deal is reached. It paves the way for a broader 60-day negotiation period due to begin in Switzerland on Friday. Here is the full document, titled “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran”, as it was read out: 1. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and ...

The vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane is expected to reopen on Friday after nearly four months, following the signing of a US-Iran agreement to end the Middle East war. AFP examines how the reopening could work and why a return to normal is likely to take time. Are ships ready? Once formal approval is given to reopen, stranded ships could theoretically begin to move through the strait almost immediately. Crews that have been idle for months will most likely have “performed regular onboard drills and maintained the ships’ machinery, technical installations and equipment”, Jakob Larsen, head of security at shipowners’ association Bimco, told AFP. However, some ships may require underwater hull cleaning to remove barnacles and other marine growth accumulated during the shutdown. The strait, through which roughly 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil supply normally transits, was effectively closed by Iran after it came under fire from the United States and Israel. About 500 ships and 20,000 seafarers have been...

Oil prices slipped to their lowest since March on Monday after US President Donald Trump and Iran’s deputy foreign minister said they had reached an initial deal to end the war and to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures fell $4.08, or 4.7 per cent, to $83.25 a barrel by 0415 GMT and US West Texas Intermediate was at $80.53, down $4.35, or 5.1pc. Both contracts fell to their lowest levels since March 10 on Monday after tumbling more than 3pc on Friday. The US and Iran will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who first announced the agreement. Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would be open “toll free” and that a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would also end. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency said the draft deal called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days under Iranian arrangements. “The geopolitical risk premium that had been built into crude is now being unwound quite aggressively as tra...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a US base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around ​the Strait of Hormuz. The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April. The Iranian strikes, which included attacks in ‌Kuwait and Bahrain, came after the US military said on X it had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday. “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday. The escalation in violence deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran ​responded by firing on US bases and assets in Gulf countries and all but choked off the Strait of Horm...