Oil prices jump 5% after US revokes Iran sanctions waiver following ship attacks

After the United States revoked Iran’s license to sell oil on Tuesday, prices jumped about 5% — with the future of energy prices hanging in the balance as the Iran war heats up.

The prices on Tuesday, which reached around $72 per barrel, were the highest since June 25. U.S. crude oil rose by over 5%, and International Brent crude oil rose about 5.3% to over $75 per barrel.

The revoked waiver, which was listed on the Treasury Department’s website, said the move was effective immediately and said that any production, delivery or sale of Iranian oil must be wound down by July 17. The waiver originally allowed such sales through Aug. 21.

The U.S. hit Iran with a new warning after the Islamic Republic launched attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the military actions “wholly unacceptable.”

An official told Reuters that Iran would be met with consequences for the attacks, which were carried out on tankers in the waterway — which is meant to be open as part of a memorandum of understanding between both countries as they work toward a lasting peace deal.

The U.S. revoked the general license that authorized the sale of Iranian oil — which was also a stipulation in the MOU — after the Iranian attacks in the strait.

The Treasury Department issued the 60-day license for the sale of Iranian oil last month as part of the MOU. Its revocation came hours after the British military said three tankers were struck by projectiles in the strait.

The attacks were the latest in a series of military actions targeting vessels moving through the waterway. They were the most in a single day since late April, according to U.N. International Maritime Organization figures reviewed by The Associated Press.

The fresh attacks threatened to choke off the flow of traffic in the strait just as countries hoped to restore normal shipping practices — and end the global economic strain from the war President Donald Trump launched on Feb. 28.

One of the tankers was traveling off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the U.K.’s Maritime Trade Operations center said.

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Iranian state television, meanwhile, said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after it ignored warnings — but didn’t directly claim the assault.

The other two ships sustained some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued on their way, the agency said.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe. It’s suspected of attacking other ships that have used other routes close to the Omani shore.

Location details provided by the U.K. agency show that all three attacks occurred off the coast of Oman or near the neighboring United Arab Emirates, making it likely that the ships were using the route near Oman that Iran said they couldn’t use.