Iran Sanctions Weigh on Oil Markets as Prices Plummet
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as Washington's escalating pressure campaign against Iran weighed on markets. Brent crude dropped 1.87% to $92.63, giving back some of last week's gains, while West Texas Intermediate slid 1.97% to $85.35.
The decline in oil prices is attributed to supply news rather than the policy outlook. Ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz climbed from 39 to 192 over two weeks, a 392% rise, according to BeInCrypto. However, this increase reflects ships restoring signals rather than fresh cargo, and traffic still sits roughly 90% below pre-war levels.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to sever Iran's economic lifelines in an opinion piece published Sunday, calling it the 'single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against' the country. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has already frozen over $130 million in crypto tied to Iran.
Iran dismissed the campaign as an admission of military defeat, with Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, calling it a 'tacit acknowledgement of Washington's defeat on the military front'. The unresolved question is China, which buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil.