Amid ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States, daily life continues in Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city on the Strait of Hormuz.Iranians spend time along the city’s waterfront at sunset in Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 12, 2026.
Fatemeh Bahrami | Anadolu | Getty Images
The Iranian government reiterated on Sunday its position that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless conditions for an end to the war with the United States are met, and at least two ships were attacked in waters near Oman and Iran over the weekend, Britain’s Center for Maritime Trade Operations reported.
On Saturday, Britain’s maritime security alert agency UKMTO said it had received reports that a crude oil tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile four nautical miles east of Oman. The newspaper reported that another tanker was similarly hit in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, causing damage to its engine compartment.
Attacks on ships in the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed before the US-Israel-led war began on February 28, have occurred regularly for weeks.
“Until Iran’s seven conditions under the Islamabad Memorandum are met, the Strait of Hormuz will not open and Iran will not restrict its national security, per a tweet from a US official,” Iranian state media Nur News quoted Parliament Speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf as saying on Sunday.
President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed an interim agreement in June known as the “Islamabad Memorandum” that resulted in a temporary suspension of fighting.
The Iranian government’s conditions for allowing ships to freely navigate the Strait of Hormuz include an end to US “acts of aggression,” an end to the US blockade of the country’s ports and economic war, and the release of Iranian assets.
The United States’ main demand is the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
saudi arabia attack
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure is reportedly under renewed attack.
Reuters reported on Saturday that Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthis said they had targeted facilities owned by Saudi oil giant Aramco in the capital Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones. The group claimed that the attack was in retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Sanaa and other areas in Yemen.
On October 3, 2026, flames broke out at a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco south of Riyadh. (Photo courtesy of AFP, Getty Images) /
– | AFP | Getty Images
Reuters, citing witnesses, said large plumes of smoke and fire rose above the facility.
Saudi authorities have not commented on the reported attack. Aramco did not immediately respond to CNBC’s emailed request for comment.
If confirmed, this would be the latest escalation in what has become the de facto second front in the Iran war.
Not if, but when
Some investors say they expect full-scale fighting to resume in the Middle East.
“The situation is fluid and volatile. For me as we develop and watch the situation, it’s not a question of if the conflict will resume in earnest, but when the conflict will resume in earnest,” Bader Al-Saif, founding president of Al-Saif Consulting, told CNBC’s Access Middle East program on Friday.
The ongoing attacks and the prospect of further escalation have driven up energy prices in recent weeks, raised inflation expectations globally and put upward pressure on government borrowing costs.
Oil prices rose on Thursday on reports that the United States is sending its third carrier strike group to the Middle East, along with an amphibious force carrying 2,000 Marines. However, prices fell slightly on Friday after G7 countries announced they would release stocks of diesel and crude oil to ease the burden on consumers.
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell 6 cents to close at $102.25 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.76 to close at $91.11 per barrel.
Brent crude oil price, USD per barrel, year-to-date
