The United States has reinstated oil sanctions on Iran after reports of unprovoked attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz late Monday night and early Tuesday morning. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) revoked the general license issued on June 21 that temporarily permitted the sale of Iranian oil, effective July 7, 2026.

Reuters initially reported the revocation, citing a U.S. official who described the attacks in the Strait of Hormuz as "wholly unacceptable." The Daily Caller confirmed this report with President Donald Trump’s White House.

A U.S. official told the Daily Caller that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran is "entirely performance-based," and Iran’s recent actions in the Strait will be met with consequences.

Earlier in late June, President Trump had announced the temporary lifting of oil sanctions on Iran after Tehran pledged to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow nuclear inspectors into the country.

However, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center reported receiving three separate accounts of attacks on vessels transiting the Strait, prompting the sanctions to be reinstated.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attacks, stating on social media that the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat near the Strait of Hormuz was a grave violation of international navigation safety, a direct threat to global energy supply security, and a clear breach of international law.

Sources