Middle East — 2026-07-09

US Strikes Iran and Revokes Oil Export License After Three Tankers Hit in Strait of Hormuz

BLUFPairing military strikes with license revocation removes the sanctions relief that anchored the June ceasefire, leaving no viable off-ramp before the July 17 wind-down deadline.

Three tankers were struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, including the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat and a Saudi-flagged supertanker believed to be the Wedyan, with the British military's UKMTO center reporting all three attacks occurred off Oman or the UAE 1. Qatar's foreign ministry blamed Iran directly and summoned Iran's deputy ambassador to protest, a charge Iran's foreign ministry called "perplexing" while denying responsibility 2. Hours later the U.S. Treasury revoked the general license, issued June 22, that had authorized Iranian oil sales through August 21, giving Iran until July 17 to wind down transactions, and a U.S. official told AP the revocation was a response to the tanker attacks 12. U.S. Central Command separately announced new strikes on Iranian air defense, coastal surveillance, missile and drone sites, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in Sirik, Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas 2.

Analysis
The CENTCOM strike package layered onto the license revocation marks the sharpest escalation since the June ceasefire, stripping away the sanctions relief that had underwritten Iran's incentive to hold fire in the strait. Qatar's direct accusation and the summoning of Iran's deputy ambassador raise the diplomatic cost of further tanker attacks. Iran's denial and its "perplexing" characterization of Qatar's charge leave open that the strikes originated with a proxy or an uncoordinated local unit rather than a centrally directed campaign to close the strait. Sourcing rests entirely on two secondary accounts, Military Times and PBS News, converging on the same US and UK military statements without an independent primary account of the strike order or license text, yielding moderate confidence in the escalation assessment. Continued negotiations hinge on Iran halting attacks on commercial traffic before the July 17 wind-down deadline, a condition neither side has met in four months of war.

3 sources

U.S. revokes license authorizing sale of Iranian oil after 3 tankers hit in Strait of Hormuz - PBS News
US launches new strikes on Iran after reinstating oil sanctions over shipping attacks - Military Times
US military completes latest round of airstrikes in Iran after Trump appears to dismiss MoU - The Jerusalem Post