Oil prices rise as Trump vows to reinstate Hormuz strait blockade, US and Iran exchange strikes
Jake Conley· Breaking Business News Reporter
Updated Mon, July 13, 2026 at 8:20 p.m. GMT+5:30
4 min read
- CL=F
+4.64% - BZ=F
+4.58%
Oil prices raced upward on Monday as President Trump said the US would “take over” the Strait of Hormuz, and that the US military would reimpose its blockade of the waterway, bringing the conflict back to conditions before the signing of the US-Iran peace agreement
Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, jumped roughly 4.7% to trade at nearly $80 per barrel. The US benchmark WTI crude (CL=F) rose a similar 4.6% to trade near $75
NY Mercantile – Delayed QuoteUSD
(BZ=F)
79.49+3.48(+4.58%)
As of 11:24:54 a.m. EDT. Market Open.
BZ=FCL=F
Advanced Chart
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” President Trump said on Monday. “We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.”
The president also said the US would, going forward, be the “GUARDIAN OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ,” and that the country would be “reimbursed” for those services at a rate of 20% on “all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.”
In an interview with Fox News earlier Monday morning, Trump said the US “can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” in comments about US efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for use by other “very wealthy” nations
The president’s comments come as the newest wave of post-agreement escalation has proven more serious and long-lasting. Over the weekend, the US military carried out strikes on roughly 140 targets, US Central Command said
Iran retaliated through Monday morning, aiming for US military bases and infrastructure inside other Gulf nations, per state media reporting. The nation also intercepted two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz that had been using an “illegal” route, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said
As the conflict has reignited, all eyes have swung back toward the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s crude oil shipping used to pass through. While Iran’s leadership has declared it closed, Washington insists the critical waterway is open
Iran said Monday the peace agreement has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase” and that it won’t abide by the required terms if the US continues its military campaign. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which the Iranian government set up as a regulatory body of the strait, said Monday, “Due to recent hostile actions by the US forces, passage through the #Strait_of_Hormuz is currently unfeasible.”
President Trump has called the agreement dead
Voyages through the waterway, the key metric for oil markets, fell 52% week on week over the weekend, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler. Kpler also noted a shift toward “defensive” techniques by vessels in the region, such as attempting “dark” crossings with location beacons turned off to avoid tracking
