Washington just tightened the screws on Tehran's oil trade, and crude prices immediately jumped. The Trump administration on Tuesday scrapped a general license that had allowed certain sales of Iranian oil, a move that followed a series of recent attacks on commercial tankers in and near the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports. The British military said three tankers in the strait were hit by projectiles on Tuesday, the most in a single day since late April, reports the AP. One natural gas tanker caught fire after it was hit off Oman, while the other two tankers sustained minor damage and were able to continue on their way, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.
"Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior," a US official tells CNBC. "Iran's actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences." The Treasury Department set a July 17 deadline to wind down transactions previously covered by the license, targeting a major source of hard currency for Iran. Oil prices climbed more than 5% on the news. Iran didn't admit to attacking the tankers, though it said they came under fire after ignoring warnings.
- The Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition led by the US, raised the threat level for the strait to "severe," warning that under current conditions, "deliberate hostile action" by Iran is likely.
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