The U.S. military completed its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, a campaign that's now pushed the Persian Gulf to the brink of a full shipping collapse. Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared the Strait of Hormuz "completely closed" while U.S. attacks continue, warning that no tanker would be allowed passage without Iranian coordination. An oil tanker caught fire after an explosion in waters the Guards described as mined near the Omani coast. Two other vessels turned back.
The escalation carries immediate human and economic costs. Oil prices climbed for a fifth straight day Thursday, with Brent crude rising 2.6% to $96.49 per barrel by 0640 GMT — the highest since June 8. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 1.8% to $88.42. The spike reflects what Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, called the return of "geopolitical premiums" — the price the world pays when conflict threatens energy chokepoints.
Dual Blockade Threatens Millions of Barrels Daily
The Strait of Hormuz isn't the only flashpoint. Yemen's Houthis, aligned with Iran, have opened a second front by targeting Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb strait. Maritime security reports said the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia was hit. The Houthis claimed they'd forced about 10 ships to retreat after warning vessels against sailing to Saudi ports. Reuters couldn't immediately verify that account.
Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, said the Red Sea threat could interrupt up to 5 million barrels per day — the main route for Gulf oil that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The world now faces what Sachdeva called a "rare risk from simultaneous disruptions" at both chokepoints. A sustained price rally, she added, will require "evidence of prolonged shipping disruptions or meaningful supply outages."
The latest U.S. strikes lasted five hours, U.S. Central Command said. American forces hit Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defense assets. In July alone, U.S. forces have targeted dozens of Iranian military sites on land while resuming a blockade against Iran at sea.
Threats to Civilian Infrastructure Draw Legal Warnings
President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. He's previously threatened to target energy plants and bridges. Iran's joint military command responded through state media, warning that if the threat was carried out, its forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians. International law experts in the United States said in April, after Trump's threats, that such attacks may amount to war crimes. Trump's threat that month to destroy Iran's entire civilization also drew wide condemnation.
The conflict began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions. U.S. troop deaths have risen to 18 in recent days.
Why This Matters:
The simultaneous closure threats at the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb represent the most serious disruption to global oil flows in years. Nearly a third of the world's seaborne petroleum passes through the Strait of Hormuz; the Red Sea route carries millions more barrels daily. Prolonged blockades would spike energy prices worldwide, hitting consumers and economies far from the conflict zone. The human cost is already mounting: thousands killed, millions displaced, and now the threat of attacks on civilian infrastructure — power plants, bridges, economic facilities — that international law is designed to protect. Trump's public threats to destroy such sites, and Iran's reciprocal warnings, move the conflict into territory that legal experts have called potential war crimes. The escalation shows no sign of diplomatic offramps, and each night of strikes makes a broader regional war more likely.