Three crew members aboard the Thai-registered merchant ship Mayuree Naree were reported trapped Thursday after Iranian forces attacked vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, in a dramatic escalation of the ongoing conflict that sent oil prices surging past $100 a barrel. The attack was among several Iranian strikes on maritime and energy targets across the Gulf region, affecting Bahrain, Iraq, and Oman simultaneously. Global markets reacted with alarm to the spreading violence.
Iraq halted all operations at its oil export ports following attacks on two nearby tankers, removing a significant source of crude supply from an already stressed market. Bahrain placed parts of the country under a shelter-in-place order after fuel storage tanks in the Muharraq Governorate were struck. Oman moved all vessels out of its Mina Al Fahal crude terminal after a nearby port came under drone attack.
Brent crude climbed 9% Thursday to touch $100.29 a barrel before retreating to around $98. West Texas Intermediate rose 8.6% to $94.75. Oil has surged from approximately $60 a barrel at the year’s start to a peak of $119 earlier in the week, before conflicting signals from the White House caused a brief pullback.
The IEA released 400 million barrels of emergency crude in an unprecedented coordinated action. The US separately announced a 172-million-barrel release from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with deliveries to begin within a week. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Iran had manipulated global energy security and that the release was necessary to protect American and allied interests.
Goldman Sachs lifted its Brent forecast for Q4 2026 to $71 a barrel. Deutsche Bank warned of stagflation risks. Asian equities declined, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 1.6% and South Korea’s Kospi losing 1.2%, while European natural gas prices climbed 7.7%.
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