Key Takeaways

• Crude rockets higher: Brent surged 3.8% to $97.83 per barrel, while WTI jumped 4% to $92.26 — recouping a bulk of this week’s sharp losses.
• Iran hits U.S. airbase: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed strikes on a U.S. airbase in Kuwait in retaliation for American attacks on Bandar Abbas.
• Kuwait under attack: Kuwait said it was defending against missile and drone attacks but did not specify the source.
• Open hostilities resume: The exchanges marked a return to direct military action despite repeated U.S. claims that a ceasefire remained in place.
• U.S. framed strikes as “self-defense”: Washington attacked Iran earlier this week under that justification.
• Trump dismisses deal: The president rejected reports that Iran would reopen Hormuz within a month and signaled dissatisfaction with the current peace framework.
• Joint Hormuz control rejected: Trump stated no single country can control the channel — dismissing the Iran-Oman joint oversight proposal.
• Nuclear and Hormuz divides persist: Both sides remain at odds over Tehran’s nuclear activities and long-term Hormuz arrangements.
• Ships trickling through: A steady but minimal flow of vessels continues to cross Hormuz, far below pre-war levels.
• 20% of global oil still disrupted: Hormuz’s closure continues to remove a fifth of global crude supply from the market.
• Wednesday’s crash reversed: Oil had plunged sharply on peace deal optimism — now reversed as hostilities resume.

Oil prices rose sharply during Asian trading on Thursday after the United States and Iran traded air strikes amid rapidly waning hopes that a peace deal was close.

Crude recouped a bulk of its recent losses, following earlier reports that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a month.

Brent oil futures for July surged 3.8% to $97.83 a barrel by 00:16 ET (04:16 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 4% to $92.26 per barrel.

U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes; Trump Dismisses Deal Hopes

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed it had struck a U.S. airbase in Kuwait, in retaliation for American attacks on Bandar Abbas earlier in the day.

Separately, Kuwait said it was defending against missile and drone attacks, but did not specify the source of the attacks.

The attacks marked a resumption in open hostilities between the United States and Iran, despite repeated claims by Washington that a ceasefire remained in place.

The U.S. had attacked Iran earlier this week and framed the move as “self-defense.”

Thursday’s attacks came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed reports that Iran would reopen commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within a month.

Trump later signaled that he was not yet satisfied with a peace deal with Iran.

Peace Deal Optimism Rapidly Unravels

Crude prices had fallen sharply on Wednesday, and were also nursing deep losses this week amid bets that a U.S.-Iran peace deal was close.

But Trump’s comments on Wednesday indicated that a deal was not as close as markets had been pricing in over the past week.

While U.S. officials did offer some optimistic comments on negotiations with Iran over the past week, both sides still remained at odds over Tehran’s nuclear activities and the Strait of Hormuz.

Reports over the past week showed a steady trickle of ships passing through Hormuz. But flows still remained at a fraction of pre-war levels, with Hormuz’s closure continuing to disrupt about a fifth of global oil supplies.

Trump also rejected the notion of Iran and Oman jointly controlling Hormuz, stating that no single country could control the channel.