Oil Soars, Hormuz Chokes, and Bitcoin Watches From the Sidelines 🛢️

Oil and energy prices climbed sharply after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed fresh military strikes against Iran over the weekend, even as Tehran warned of a "full-scale war" in the Middle East. The escalation pushed Brent and benchmark crude higher while shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked, tightening supply expectations.

CENTCOM said the U.S. military hit multiple Iranian military sites, including surveillance installations, logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage areas and marine assets linked to Iran's operations. The strikes marked a seventh consecutive night of U.S. bombing and targeted infrastructure near Bandar Abbas, home to the Iranian Navy's main Persian Gulf bases. Two American personnel were killed in fighting on Friday and one remained missing, according to CENTCOM.

Iran responded with strikes against U.S. partners in the region. Kuwaiti authorities reported that a power station, two water desalination facilities and an oil installation were hit, with officials confirming injuries. Jordan said it intercepted 10 Iranian missiles overnight before they could reach their targets. The dollar-denominated commodity move rippled through global risk markets, though major cryptocurrencies including $BTC and $ETH showed limited reaction in early Asian trading.

Geopolitical analysts tracking the conflict told media outlets that any prolonged disruption to Strait of Hormuz transit, which handles a significant share of seaborne crude flows, would keep upward pressure on energy prices and could affect inflation expectations worldwide. Oil futures traded in a wide intraday range as traders weighed the likelihood of further retaliation and possible disruption to tanker traffic.

The U.S. strikes followed a week of escalating military violence and came despite public warnings from Iranian officials that any attack would be met with broad retaliation against U.S. interests in the region. CENTCOM has not announced additional operations as of the latest press update, and Iranian state media has continued to broadcast statements framing the conflict as a defense of national sovereignty.