Escalating US-Iran conflict drives oil above $110 and rattles financial markets

The confrontation between the United States and Iran reached critical levels this week. US Central Command reported that American forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers—the Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1, Riesco and Derya—following Iranian missile attacks on US Navy vessels. In response, Iran launched missile strikes on 9 and 10 September against the Muwaffaq Salti air base in Jordan, damaging roughly a dozen American aircraft; Jordanian air defences intercepted eighteen of twenty incoming missiles.

Iranian state media claimed further strikes on additional vessels near Hormuz on 11 September, prompting the United States to launch fresh strikes on Iranian air-defence and missile installations. The Trump administration announced new Treasury sanctions targeting banks in Dubai and Turkey accused of financing Tehran. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints, fell to its lowest level since May, with Qatar warning of an 'industrial catastrophe'.

Financial markets experienced severe turbulence. Brent crude climbed from approximately 98 dollars early in the week to beyond 110 dollars, while US diesel surpassed six dollars per gallon for the first time in history. Treasury yields rose sharply, with the 30-year bond reaching 5.37%, and stock markets declined for a fourth consecutive session. President Trump, speaking at a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, stated that the war would conclude 'right after' November's elections, though he acknowledged it could extend further and mentioned possible strikes near Natanz.