Three days into the "two-week truce" between the United States and Iran, only about 1% of stranded vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, which is tightly controlling the strait by sharply limiting daily ship traffic, has also struck Saudi Arabia's oil pipeline — an alternative crude transport route — in a bid to maximize its negotiating leverage.
CBS News reported on Friday, citing data from ship-tracking firm MarineTraffic, that only 22 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the three days from June 7, when the two-week truce took effect, through Friday. On June 8, the day after the agreement, only five ships passed through — fewer than the 11 that transited on the day of the agreement. Some 2,000 ships stranded at the strait appear to be hesitating to pass as the negotiation landscape was shaken by Israel's massive airstrikes on Lebanon.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement emphasizing that Iran would "elevate the management and control of the Strait of Hormuz to a new level." An Iranian lawmaker also threatened to permanently ban U.S. and Israeli tankers from passing through the strait.
Tension has returned to markets that had been relieved by news of the truce. Amid this uncertainty, Iran is boosting its bargaining position by striking the Saudi East-West Pipeline (Petroline), a key bypass route for crude oil transport. Saudi state news agency SPA reported that Iran's extensive strikes on June 8 against the capital Riyadh and energy facilities at the Yanbu industrial complex on the Red Sea coast reduced daily production capacity by approximately 600,000 barrels. The Petroline also lost about 700,000 barrels — roughly 10% of its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels — due to the attack.
"If the main route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz is also threatened, international oil prices will surge again," Bloomberg reported. Indeed, Brent crude, which had plunged more than 13% on June 8 on hopes of an end to hostilities, reversed course on Friday with gains exceeding 1% during trading.
