Oil Prices Spike as IRGC Reports Tanker Attacks

Oil prices reached their highest levels since May following reports from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that two tankers were set ablaze by mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC also claimed to have shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone in the region, an incident the United States has not confirmed.

Military activity increased across the region as the UK Maritime Operations Centre reported a tanker interaction east of Oman. The British Defence Ministry deployed an RAF Voyager aircraft to support Saudi defensive operations against Houthi attacks. In Doha, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack stated that Washington is not leaving the region, though he acknowledged that "every time we try and intervene, change the person or the regime, it seems to have been a mistake."

These geopolitical tensions coincided with severe civil unrest in France, where protests involving over half a million people led to looting and arson. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu responded by imposing new curfews. The combined impact of the Middle East instability and the French unrest triggered losses across major European stock markets, including the FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40.