Overview
- U.S. Central Command said its forces struck roughly 80 Iranian targets, including air‑defence systems, coastal radar, command‑and‑control sites and about 60 IRGC small boats, to degrade Iran’s ability to hit commercial shipping.
- The attacks followed assaults on three commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz that U.S. and Gulf officials said included a Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi crude tanker and that Qatar blamed on Iran.
- Washington revoked a temporary U.S. Treasury licence that had allowed limited Iranian oil sales under the June interim memorandum, effectively reinstating sanctions on new Iranian crude transactions.
- Maritime authorities raised the Hormuz transit threat level to “severe,” insurers and ship operators face higher war‑risk premiums, and oil benchmarks jumped roughly 2–3 percent on renewed supply worries.
- Diplomatic channels and mediators face acute pressure because the memorandum is performance‑based, and analysts warn prolonged disruption of Hormuz traffic or higher insurance costs would sustain market volatility.