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Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.
Shady Alassar | Anadolu | Getty Images
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday revoked its authorization of Iranian oil sales after a series of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this week.
"Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior," a U.S. official told CNBC. "Iran's actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences."
The Joint Maritime Operations Center on Tuesday raised its threat assessment in Hormuz to "severe," after attacks on a liquefied natural gas tanker, an oil supertanker and an specified third tanker. The center is a U.S.-led naval group in Bahrain that coordinates with merchant ships.
Iran promised safe passage to commercial ships through Hormuz under the interim deal reached with the U.S. last month, but Tehran has insisted that vessels must use a northern route under its control.
The U.S. Navy has carved out a southern route along Oman's coast that the Gulf states are using to export their oil and gas. Ships are avoiding the traditional route through the middle of Hormuz because Iran mined it.
Iran has attacked ships that use the U.S. Navy protected route, as Washington and Tehran continue to jostle for control over the strait.
