The US-Iran standoff continues in the Hormuz region; Iran claims US missile strikes on oil tankers near Kharg Island.

The military conflict between the US and Iran has once again extended to the vicinity of Iran's core oil export facilities.

On Tuesday evening, September 8th local time, CCTV News, citing Iranian sources, reported that an Iranian oil tanker was attacked by a US missile approximately four miles from Iran's Kharg Island. Local sources stated that there were no casualties, the tanker's crew was being evacuated, and relevant departments are investigating the incident. Neither Iranian nor US officials have yet responded to the report.

According to Iranian media Tasnim, a small Iranian oil tanker was hit by a U.S. military projectile about 4 nautical miles from Kharg Island, within the anchorage area of Kharg Island. There were no casualties, and the tanker crew is evacuating.

Following the release of this news during Tuesday's midday trading session in the US, international crude oil futures extended their gains. US WTI crude oil prices rose again to over 2%, briefly approaching $94; Brent crude oil prices rose by more than 1%, also briefly nearing $99.

Oil prices are near multi-week highs amid escalating conflicts in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, during European trading hours, WTI crude oil briefly broke through $94.70, hitting a three-month intraday high, while Brent crude oil briefly rose above $99.40, also reaching a more than three-month high.

Another oil tanker was attacked near Halk Island, escalating the maritime conflict between the US and Iran.

Kharg Island is one of Iran's most important crude oil export hubs, so the attack on the tanker nearby has drawn attention not only to the extent of damage to individual vessels, but also to whether the US-Iran military conflict will further threaten Iran's crude oil export capabilities.

Iranian media reported that the attacked oil tanker was within the anchorage area of Kharg Island. CCTV, citing Iranian sources, stated that the attack occurred approximately 4 miles from Kharg Island, and the crew was evacuating; there were no reports of casualties. Fox News reported that the US military attacked multiple targets around Iran's Kharg Island, with several Iranian oil tankers listed as targets.

This news is linked to the military clashes that have occurred around Halk Island in the past few days.

Reports on Saturday, September 5th, indicated that explosions had been heard near Kharg Island. The U.S. Central Command subsequently stated that the U.S. military had attacked three Iranian oil tankers, including one located near Kharg Island. The U.S. claimed that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously launched missile attacks on two U.S. Navy ships.

The US military also reportedly accused the three Iranian oil tankers it attacked of funding the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its regional proxies.

Therefore, if the latest alleged attack by Iran is further confirmed, it means that the military confrontation between the two sides over Iranian oil shipments and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is still ongoing.

Iranian military says it captured an advanced U.S. unmanned submarine on Tuesday.

Just before news of the tanker attack broke, Iran released a more military-related announcement.

According to CCTV News, on September 8, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy issued a statement saying that its forces successfully captured an advanced intelligent unmanned submarine of the US military at dawn that day at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz through a "complex intelligence and combat operation," and said that related pictures would be released in the next few hours.

Iranian media subsequently continued to report on this news.

However, the US has offered a different description of Iran's claim of a "capture." Some US media outlets, citing information from the US Central Command, stated that what Iran controlled was a malfunctioning, unclassified unmanned underwater vehicle, not the advanced military submarine described by Iran.

This means that, amid the successive attacks on oil tankers and unmanned underwater vehicles, the military rivalry between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters is escalating further.

Halk Island has become a focal point of the US-Iran conflict.

Kharg Island has attracted particular market attention because it is not only an important oil export base for Iran, but also a key point for observing whether Iranian crude oil can continue to enter the international market.

Previous reports indicated that Kharg Island is Iran's main oil export hub, with approximately 90% of Iran's crude oil previously exported through Kharg Island; however, with the US imposing a maritime blockade on Iran and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz being affected, Iran's oil exports have already experienced significant disruptions.

In the past few days, market concerns about whether the conflict will further impact Iran's oil export facilities have clearly intensified.

Despite severe disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies, Brent crude oil prices failed to break $100 on Tuesday, according to media reports. Reasons included the continued volume of oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf oil-producing countries utilizing alternative export routes, and increased production from non-OPEC oil-producing countries such as the United States, Canada, and Guyana.

However, if the US-Iran military action further directly impacts tankers, terminals, or crude oil export facilities around Kharg Island, the market pricing logic may change—shifting from the previous "supply disruption risk" to concerns about a decline in actual export capacity.

Brent crude is just one step away from $100.

Against this backdrop, oil prices have become particularly sensitive to any military news involving Iranian oil tankers and Kharg Island.

Driven by factors such as the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, WTI and Brent crude oil prices broke through $94.70 and $99.40 respectively during Tuesday's European trading session, with Brent crude oil just one step away from the $100 mark.

If more information confirms the attack on the oil tankers near Kharg Island, the market's next focus will be on whether the US-Iran conflict will escalate from attacks on military targets to sustained attacks on Iran's oil export system.

This will also determine whether oil prices are just experiencing a short-term surge or whether they will further open up room to move above $100.

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