Energy & Resources
Oil prices top $100 after Iran says it attacked 20 vessels
Oil prices hovered above $100 a barrel on Thursday after Iran said it attacked 20 vessels trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and expanded restrictions around the key energy route.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, was $101.28 a barrel in early Asian trade on Thursday, after rising above $100 the previous day for the first time since July.
Iranian state media reported that the Revolutionary Guards attacked two US vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 “non-compliant vessels” trying to pass through the strait, which normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said several merchant vessels in the Northern Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman were subjected to disabling fire during ongoing military activity in the region.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also expanded a new “prohibited zone” on Wednesday into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi told state television that exact coordinates would be announced later and that vessels entering without coordination would face Iranian sanctions.
US President Donald Trump told Republicans in Texas that oil prices would fall “as soon as we win the war with Iran.” He said: “We're winning it. We control the Hormuz Strait,” and repeated a suggestion that the waterway be renamed “Trump Strait.”
Trump also said the war would end right after the November midterm elections because Iran “can't hold out any longer.” The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying Trump's top advisers were privately warning that the war could continue through the remaining two years of his term.
The Guards said they struck a US military base in Jordan in response to US forces destroying five Iranian oil tankers a day earlier. Jordan's army said it shot down 18 missiles fired at the kingdom. Iran's foreign ministry described its targeting of US military facilities as self-defence, while the US military said it had been responding to an Iranian attack on an American warship.
In a separate diplomatic move, the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors voted Wednesday to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over nuclear “non-compliance.” A resolution seen by AFP was adopted by 23 votes to three, with eight abstentions.
Update
Brent crude was $101.28 a barrel in early Asian trade on Thursday after rising above $100 the previous day for the first time since July.
Oil prices hovered above $100 a barrel the day after Iran said it attacked vessels trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told Republicans in Texas that oil prices would go down as soon as the United States wins the war with Iran and said, “We control the Hormuz Strait.”
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 03:33:17 UTC.
Update
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying Donald Trump's top advisers are privately warning that the war could continue through the remaining two years of his term.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 00:23:52 UTC.
Update
Brent oil closed at $101.21 after the attacks and fighting pushed prices above $100 per barrel again.
US President Donald Trump said he thought the war would end immediately after the November mid-term elections and accused Tehran of trying to affect the vote.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 21:35:45 UTC.
Update
The UN said freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be fully restored and called for restraint.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was described by his spokesperson as deeply concerned by reports of further escalation around the strait.
Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said Iran's conditions for ending the war included US restraint, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, ending the blockade of Yemen, release of $24 billion in frozen assets and no interference in Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his claim that Iran's Islamic republic was close to collapse.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 18:49:52 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards added parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea to a new prohibited zone, with exact coordinates to be announced later.
UKMTO said several vessels in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman were subject to disabling fire during ongoing military activity.
Oil prices rose above $100 per barrel again amid the attacks and US-Iran fighting.
Iran's Guards said they struck a US military base in Jordan; Jordan's army said it shot down 18 missiles fired at the kingdom.
The IAEA board of governors voted to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over nuclear non-compliance, with 23 votes in favour, three against and eight abstentions.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 17:14:22 UTC.
Update
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they also targeted 10 “non-compliant vessels.”
The Guards said the vessels were attempting to pass through a prohibited and unsafe zone of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement was published by Iran's official IRNA news agency.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 03:16:05 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Exact coordinates for Iran's expanded prohibited zone had not yet been announced.
The supplied information does not independently confirm damage or casualties from the reported vessel attacks.
The likely duration and outcome of the US-Iran war remain disputed between Trump's public statements and warnings attributed by the Wall Street Journal to US officials.
Source
AFP news report published on .