Strait of Hormuz crisis: War in the Middle East drives oil over $100

By Michael Oduor with AFP

Oil prices have surged past the $100 mark, as conflict in the Middle East intensifies.

Brent crude jumped 17 percent today to trade at $107 a barrel. That’s the highest level since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled global energy markets.

The spike comes as Iran names the late Supreme Leader’s son as the new head of the Islamic Republic, deepening political uncertainty in the region.

At sea, around 10 vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked since Iran moved to block the strategic waterway in response to US–Israeli airstrikes, according to maritime data analysis groups.

The Strait of Hormuz typically handles around 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. But tanker traffic there has plunged by roughly 90 percent over the past week, according to the analytics firm Kpler, which runs the MarineTraffic platform.

Earlier this month, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran would, quote, “burn any ship” attempting to cross the strait and would halt all Gulf oil exports. Yet on Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, insisted Tehran has “no intention” of closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts say markets are now bracing for further volatility, as traders weigh the risk of supply disruptions against diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis.