TEHRAN, July 7 — Iran’s renewed military operations near the Strait of Hormuz, which began with attacks on April 25, 2025, have sent oil prices climbing sharply, with Brent crude reaching $95 per barrel, according to international reports. The figure represents a 12% increase from the week prior to the attacks, officials said.
The escalation has raised alarms across global energy markets, as approximately 20% of the world’s petroleum—about 17 million barrels per day in 2024—passes through the Strait, a narrow waterway that has long been a flashpoint in regional tensions. For major consumers of Persian Gulf oil, the stakes are high.
China, Japan, India, and South Korea rely heavily on supplies transiting the Strait, and the attacks now threaten those supply chains, according to state and international accounts. Insurance premiums for tankers operating in the region have tripled, the reports indicate, and some shipping companies have begun rerouting vessels via the longer Cape of Good Hope route, a detour that increases costs by 30%. The United States holds a significant strategic reserve.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve contained about 370 million barrels as of March 2025, and officials have indicated it could be tapped to help stabilise prices if disruptions persist. The International Energy Agency has issued a warning, according to the source, that a potential supply crisis could unfold if the Strait is blocked for more than two weeks.
This is not the first time the Strait of Hormuz has been at the centre of a confrontation. For decades, Iran’s position along the waterway has given it leverage over global energy flows, and the current operations fit a pattern familiar to analysts who track the region’s geopolitical fault lines. The April 25 attacks themselves mark a resumption of activity that had previously drawn international condemnation.
The question now facing markets and governments alike is whether the disruption will be contained or escalate further. With tanker insurance costs soaring and shipping routes being redrawn, the economic consequences are already being felt. Whether the U.S. draws down its reserve or diplomatic channels reopen, the next weeks will test the resilience of a supply chain that runs through one of the world’s most volatile waterways.
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