{"id":66354,"date":"2026-08-11T15:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-surge-toward-90-as-u-s-disables-blockade-runner-in-gulf-of-oman\/66354\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T15:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T19:38:14","slug":"oil-prices-surge-toward-90-as-u-s-disables-blockade-runner-in-gulf-of-oman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-surge-toward-90-as-u-s-disables-blockade-runner-in-gulf-of-oman\/66354\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Prices Surge Toward $90 as U.S. Disables Blockade Runner in Gulf of Oman"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brent crude futures touched $90 a barrel<\/strong> for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday as the <strong>U.S.-Iran war stalemate<\/strong> hardened and shipping traffic through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> dwindled to just six vessels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> disabled the Panama-flagged <strong>M\/V Vela Nova<\/strong> in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to run the blockade toward an Iranian port; a Navy helicopter fired two <strong>Hellfire missiles<\/strong> into the ship&#39;s engine room.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meta (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> released <strong>Muse Glimmer<\/strong>, a 30-billion parameter open-weight AI model optimized for local consumer hardware, under the permissive <strong>Apache 2.0 license<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yemen&#39;s Houthi rebels<\/strong> launched a large-scale missile and drone offensive targeting <strong>Saudi troop concentrations<\/strong> and weapons depots in <strong>Al-Makha<\/strong> and <strong>Marib<\/strong>, reportedly killing at least seven people.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/strong> emphasized that sustaining American leadership in AI requires advancing both <strong>open- and closed-weight models<\/strong> while ensuring &quot;trusted foundations.&quot;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Regional Escalation<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Oil prices<\/a><\/strong> exhibited choppy trading on Tuesday, with <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> rising 1.6% to touch the <strong>$90 mark<\/strong> before settling near <strong>$89<\/strong>, while <strong>WTI<\/strong> climbed 1.8% to exceed <strong>$83<\/strong>. The price surge follows a breakdown in diplomatic efforts as <strong>President Donald Trump<\/strong> demanded compensation from <strong>Tehran<\/strong> for war damages, while Iran insisted the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> remain closed until the U.S. lifts its naval blockade.<\/p>\n<p><strong>U.S. Central Command<\/strong> reported a significant escalation in blockade enforcement, confirming that as of August 11, it has <strong>redirected 55 commercial vessels<\/strong>, disabled three, and boarded two. The most recent interdiction involved the <strong>M\/V Vela Nova<\/strong>, which was disabled by <strong>Hellfire missiles<\/strong> fired from a <strong>U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter<\/strong> after its crew ignored repeated warnings. CENTCOM officials described regional forces as &quot;highly vigilant, lethal, and ready&quot; to maintain the economic squeeze on the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n<h2>Technological Sovereignty and AI Innovation<\/h2>\n<p>In the technology sector, <strong>Meta (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> CEO <strong>Mark Zuckerberg<\/strong> announced the release of <strong>Muse Glimmer<\/strong>, a 30B parameter dense model designed to run locally on consumer-grade GPUs or Macs. This strategic move toward <strong>open-source<\/strong> AI aims to commoditize the model layer, putting pressure on competitors who rely on metered cloud access. <strong>U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/strong> praised the release as a &quot;win for American innovation,&quot; noting that the future of AI must be built on &quot;trusted foundations&quot; that include both open and proprietary models.<\/p>\n<p>The geopolitical dimension of technology was further highlighted by <strong>Iran&#39;s General Naghdi<\/strong>, who claimed on Tuesday that all of Iran&#39;s military weapons are now <strong>domestically produced<\/strong>. This assertion comes amid reports that the <strong>Pentagon<\/strong> has asked U.S. defense firms to ramp up production of critical munitions, such as <strong>Patriot<\/strong> and <strong>THAAD<\/strong> interceptors, which have been depleted during the ongoing five-month conflict.<\/p>\n<h2>Humanitarian and Military Conflict in Yemen<\/h2>\n<p>The security situation in the southern Arabian Peninsula deteriorated as <strong>Houthi spokespersons<\/strong> confirmed targeted strikes on <strong>Saudi-led coalition<\/strong> headquarters and assets in <strong>Al-Makha<\/strong> and <strong>Marib<\/strong>. The rebels utilized a &quot;large number of ballistic missiles and drones,&quot; resulting in the destruction of weapons depots and causing multiple casualties. Houthi officials warned that operations will continue against any troop concentrations seeking to &quot;escalate and control Yemen.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> reminded academic institutions that registration for the <strong>#FedChallenge<\/strong> remains open until <strong>September 30, 2026<\/strong>. While domestic economic programs continue, the financial world remains laser-focused on the <strong>Middle East<\/strong>, where the hardening &quot;Mexican standoff&quot; between Washington and Tehran continues to drive volatility in global energy and equity markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Brent crude futures touched $90 a barrel for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday as the 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