{"id":64695,"date":"2026-07-13T07:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-surge-as-iran-declares-strait-of-hormuz-closed-following-u-s-strikes\/64695\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T07:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:08:18","slug":"oil-prices-surge-as-iran-declares-strait-of-hormuz-closed-following-u-s-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-surge-as-iran-declares-strait-of-hormuz-closed-following-u-s-strikes\/64695\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Prices Surge as Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Closed Following U.S. Strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Oil prices<\/a> jumped as much as 5%<\/strong>, with Brent crude climbing toward <strong>$95 per barrel<\/strong> and WTI nearing <strong>$93<\/strong>, following Iran&#39;s declaration that the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> is closed to all traffic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> launched a massive wave of strikes against approximately <strong>140 Iranian military targets<\/strong> to degrade Tehran&#39;s ability to threaten international shipping.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iran&#39;s Tasnim News Agency<\/strong> reported that a U.S. projectile struck the strategic city of <strong>Abadan<\/strong> on Monday, injuring at least one person and heightening fears of infrastructure damage near major refineries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tehran vowed to keep the waterway closed<\/strong> until the &quot;end of U.S. interference,&quot; while the U.S. military insists the strait remains an international waterway and that traffic continues to flow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The global energy market faced a sharp shock Monday morning as <strong>Iran&#39;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/strong> announced the indefinite closure of the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>. This strategic chokepoint handles approximately <strong>20% of the world&#39;s oil trade<\/strong>, and the threat of a full blockade has reignited fears of a global supply crunch. <em>Market analysts warn that if the closure persists, crude prices could realistically test the $120 to $150 range.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The escalation follows a series of heavy military exchanges between Washington and Tehran over the weekend. <strong>U.S. Central Command (<a href=\"\/stock\/CENTCOM\">CENTCOM<\/a>)<\/strong> confirmed it conducted precision strikes against dozens of sites, including air defense systems, radar installations, and drone launch facilities. <em>President Donald Trump stated the operations were necessary to hold Iranian forces accountable for recent attacks on commercial vessels.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On the ground in Iran, the conflict hit home in the Khuzestan province. <strong>Iran&#39;s Tasnim News Agency<\/strong> reported that a U.S. projectile struck <strong>Abadan<\/strong> on Monday, wounding one individual. Local officials also reported a separate strike in <strong>Bandar Mahshahr<\/strong> that killed a security guard at an agricultural water pumping station. These incidents mark a significant expansion of the conflict into Iranian territory, threatening the fragile ceasefire established earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Financial markets reacted swiftly to the heightened geopolitical risk premium. Beyond the surge in oil, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">Gold<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/GC.1\">GC.1<\/a>)<\/strong> prices fell roughly <strong>1.5% to $4,060 per ounce<\/strong> as investors weighed the inflationary impact of higher energy costs on central bank interest rate policies. <em>The shift suggests that traders are prioritizing the risk of &quot;higher-for-longer&quot; rates over traditional safe-haven plays in the immediate wake of the energy shock.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>European Union<\/strong> and other international bodies have called for the immediate reopening of the waterway, citing the <strong>Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)<\/strong>. Despite Tehran&#39;s claims of sovereignty over the strait, the U.S. military continues to escort a limited number of commercial vessels through the passage. <em>The situation remains fluid, with the July 19 deadline for lifting naval blockades under previous agreements now appearing increasingly unlikely to be met.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Oil prices jumped as much as 5%, with Brent crude climbing toward $95 per barrel and WTI nearing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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