By Abby Schultz
Iran's decision to close the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after Israel renewed attacks in Lebanon is expected to put oil markets on edge again.
Traffic had tentatively begun moving through the critical shipping lane this week, including three Saudi-flagged supertankers that together were carrying more than six million barrels of crude, Kpler ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.
But after peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland were paused on Friday after an earlier round of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trading Economics -- a financial analytics platform -- reported that "shipping activity slowed" that morning, and no outbound vessels were seen leaving the Persian Gulf. On Fox & Friends Weekend, however, Vice President J.D. Vance said Saturday morning that 16 million barrels of oil moved through the strait on Friday.
In a post on X, the Fars News Agency, which reportedly is closely tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said: "In view of the flagrant bad faith and breach of covenant by America regarding the failure to implement the first clause of the end-of-war agreement, and in reaction to the relentless and continuous violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon...it declares that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the passage of vessels."
Asked about The Wall Street Journal's news of the strait closure, Vance said, "we're not seeing any evidence that the Iranians are still closing down the Strait of Hormuz."
Vance also said that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Switzerland now "dealing with some of the technical elements of this negotiation," and that talks will be planned once the principals from the Iranian government, in addition to representatives from the governments of Qatar and Pakistan, arrive. "That may happen as soon as tomorrow, but these things are always a little bit in flux," Vance said.
Iran's state broadcaster announced the government was still sending a negotiating team to Switzerland to meet with the negotiators from the U.S., Qatar, and Pakistan, according to the Associated Press. The state media said parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank and oil officials would attend, the AP stated.
The price of Brent crude experienced the largest one-week net and percentage drop last week since May 29 last week, falling $6.76 a barrel, or 7.74%, to $80.57 through Friday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The price of Nymex crude for July delivery, meanwhile, fell $8.28 a barrel, or 9.75%, to $76.60, through Thursday. Nymex crude didn't trade Friday because of Juneteenth, a federal holiday.
Brent crude, however, traded on Friday, rising 72 cents, or 0.9%, amid emerging tensions over Israel's resistance to the U.S. memo of understanding with Iran. For the year, Brent is up $19.72 or 32.4%. Trading in oil markets resumes at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday.
Before the war, the strait carried about 20% of the global oil supply.
Shares of U.S. energy majors and liquefied natural gas exporters lost ground this past week after news emerged of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. Those stocks could regain some lost ground when trading reopens on Monday.
The White House didn't immediately respond to Barron's request for comment.
President Donald Trump has yet to comment publicly on the strait's closure. Early Saturday morning, Trump in a Truth Social post criticized Democrats and "radical left fools" for doubting his "War against Iran" and he attacked the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal of 2015 for giving the Iranians "$Billions in cash." Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018.
Write to Abby Schultz at abby.schultz@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 20, 2026 13:39 ET (17:39 GMT)
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