US and Iran Trade Strikes for Tenth Day as Tankers Hit in Strait of Hormuz

US Central Command struck Iranian command and control centers, missile and drone launch sites, and air defenses on the tenth day of exchanges that began July 9. The command said the targets were chosen to degrade capabilities used against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran would pay many times over for each American soldier killed.

Iran has killed three US soldiers in the course of the fighting and struck US military sites in Kuwait and Jordan. It also hit the oil supertanker Acheloos and a smaller fuel tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd. , was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman's Limah.

Visible traffic through the strait came to a near standstill on Monday. As of Tuesday morning only six vessels had transited the waterway, Bloomberg data showed. Persian Gulf oil flows fell below 45 percent of pre-war levels.

Brent crude futures have risen above $90 per barrel in recent weeks. Goldman Sachs said prices could reach $120 per barrel by the fourth quarter if disruptions continue, though its base case remains $80 per barrel on de-escalation. The national average price for regular 87-octane gasoline in the US has exceeded $4 per gallon.

European natural gas futures surged more than 20 percent over the prior seven sessions. Pakistan LNG paid about $21.88 per MMBtu for a cargo, its highest price since 2022, traders said. Pakistan and Bangladesh purchased some of their most expensive LNG shipments in years.

Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni began meetings with mediators in Pakistan on Tuesday. An unidentified senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators proposed a 10-day ceasefire. Iran's president said communication with Supreme Leader Khamenei has increased.