Oil prices surged on Tuesday (August 18) as hopes for a resolution to the Middle East conflict seemed to be ending, as Iran’s military doctrine is shifting from a defensive posture towards an offensive one while the US is ruling out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement, intensifying fears over energy supply disruptions.
Iranian Fars News Agency reported that Iran’s armed forces are preparing to adopt “transformative approaches” and take necessary action at the appropriate time.
IRGC Political Deputy Brigadier General Yadollah Javani told Iranian state media that Iran’s actions so far had been defensive but could assume an offensive character in the future.
According to Fars, Javani said, “The enemy has been the initiator of the war, and Iran’s actions are defensive, but they may take on an offensive aspect in the future.” He added that the armed forces would adopt transformative approaches and that any necessary action to defend the country would be taken at the appropriate time.
U.S. officials, on the other hand, ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.
Related News |
Diplomatic headway and the restoration of commercial tanker transits through the critical Strait of Hormuz have effectively stalled, prolonging the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched with attacks on Iran on February 28.
Brent crude futures gained 27 cents, or 0.3 per cent, reaching $91.14 by 0003 GMT, building on gains from Monday that hit peak levels last seen on July 30.
Simultaneously, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 42 cents to $85.04 per barrel, after climbing over 1 per cent earlier in the session to hit $85.37 – its highest level since July 31.
“Oil has jumped to start the week as U.S.-Iran relations look increasingly shaky. A deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz still does not appear to be in sight, and shipping numbers remain at a trickle,” said chief market analyst at KCM, Tim Waterer.
Demonstrating the severity of the bottleneck, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed that only five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, with zero transits recorded on Sunday – a sharp decline from the 31 vessel passages logged the prior weekend following tanker strikes.
Adding to the regional maritime disruption, Yemen’s Houthis movement targeted what they described was a Saudi military ship alongside four escort vessels using missiles in the Red Sea, according to a group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Telegram.
“The dual chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb remains highly significant. These are not secondary concerns. They sit at the centre of the current supply-risk narrative,” KCM’s Waterer said.
Iran has engaged in separate negotiation with Oman to establish a transit management deal for the strait and reported approaching a consensus. But Trump responded to those negotiations with a threat to bomb the Gulf state, a longstanding U.S. security partner.
