Prices soared after President Donald Trump said ships would need permission from the U.S. Navy to transit major waterways.
Published April 24, 2026
Tensions between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz escalated following the seizure of a commercial ship by the US and Iran, causing oil prices to soar.
Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, topped $106 a barrel early Friday, as the U.S. and Iranian governments intensify their standoff over a key sea route for global energy transport.
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Brent crude oil was trading at $106.80 as of 1 a.m. Japan time, up nearly 5% from Wednesday’s closing price, which was above $100 a barrel for the first time in two weeks.
US stocks fell overnight, with the benchmark S&P 500 index down 0.41% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.89%.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies, remains halted as Iran continues to demand the right to dictate which ships pass through and the United States blocks Iran’s maritime trade.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to destroy Iranian ships laying mines in the Strait, he said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, shortly after the Pentagon announced it had seized a tanker carrying sanctioned Iranian oil for the second time in less than a week.
President Trump also appeared to extend the scope of the U.S. naval blockade beyond Iranian ports, writing on Truth Social that no ships “may enter or leave” the strait without authorization from the U.S. Navy.
“Until Iran gets a deal, it’s ‘strictly sealed’!!!” Trump said.
President Trump’s threat came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had seized two foreign cargo ships in the waterway.
The Revolutionary Guards said it had seized the Panamanian-flagged MSC Francesca and the Greek-owned Epaminondas for endangering maritime safety by “operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigational systems.”
Greece’s Ministry of Maritime and Island Policy denied that the Epaminondas had been seized, saying the ship remained under the control of its captain.
Just nine commercial ships passed through the strait on Wednesday, compared with seven on Tuesday and 15 on Monday, according to maritime information platform Windward.
Before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28, the waterway saw an average of 129 sailings each day, according to United Nations Trade and Development.
