Oil prices surge as US strikes Iran, reversing slide to pre-war levels

Brent crude rises above $76 a barrel for the first time in two weeks amid renewed violence in Strait of Hormuz.Published On 8 Jul 2026Oil prices have surged as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran threaten to derail a fragile ceasefire that had brought some relief to global energy markets.Brent crude, the main international benchmark, rose as much as 3 percent on Wednesday, reversing a slide that had seen prices return to pre-war levels.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Unstable Manhattan skyscraper triggers collapse fearslist 2 of 4US strikes Iran despite promised pause for Khamenei funerallist 3 of 4Argentina fans hurl beer at Egypt supporters after final whistlelist 4 of 4US immigration officer shoots and kills man in Texasend of listBrent futures for September stood at $76.07 a barrel as of 04:00 GMT, the highest since June 23.The jump came after the US launched strikes on Iran and revoked a temporary waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil, following attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.US, Qatari and Saudi officials blamed Iran for the attacks on the vessels.US Central Command said on X that it had begun “launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway”.Tehran has not directly claimed responsibility for the attacks, but has repeatedly warned vessels against attempting to transit the waterway on routes it has not approved.Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said earlier that Tehran would take “decisive actions to safeguard its national interests and security” in response to the revocation of the sanctions waiver, describing the move as a “blatant violation” of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Washington and Tehran on June 17.Tony Sycamore, a senior market analyst at IG Australia, said the MoU’s language was deliberately vague regarding control of the strait and traffic management.