Oil futures ticked up Thursday morning as Iran and the United States traded strikes and counterstrikes, with renewed threats of violence prompting energy traders to consider timing predictions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The escalation cycle began Monday when an Iranian drone downed a U.S. Army helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the U.S. Navy to launch an inventive and successful rescue operation. Both helicopter pilots survived and were delivered to shore in stable condition.
Following the rescue, the White House ordered "proportionate" counterstrikes targeting Iranian military sites along the perimeter of the strait, including radar installations and air defense sites. (Iran also claims that U.S. fighters hit water storage tanks near the city of Sirik.)
On Wednesday, at the request of President Donald Trump, U.S. forces launched another wave of airstrikes across Iran, hoping to convince the regime in Tehran to agree to U.S. proposals for a long-term ceasefire agreement. U.S. officials assert that no civilian infrastructure was hit. Iran said that it retaliated with ballistic missile counterstrikes targeting U.S. installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, including attempted attacks on U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base; the effects (if any) have not been reported, but bystanders on social media recorded extended air defense engagements over these locations.
