Iran fired missiles at American forces, the US shot them down, and oil jumped 4 per cent
The US says it intercepted ballistic missiles launched by Iran at its forces in the Middle East, a day after Washington announced a pause in strikes. Brent crude climbed more than 4 per cent.
It lasted a little over 24 hours. A day after Donald Trump announced the United States was halting its strikes on Iran, the American military says it intercepted ballistic missiles fired by Tehran at US forces in the Middle East — an attempted surprise attack, in Washington’s description.
What happened between Iran and the US?
By the American account, the missiles were detected and shot down before reaching their targets, with no US casualties reported. The timing is what makes it significant: it came almost immediately after the first sign of de-escalation in nearly two weeks of exchanges, which suggests the announced pause was nothing close to an agreement between the two sides.
On the Iranian side, the government has been tallying losses. Tehran says it lost part of the country’s gas production capacity during the fighting, that Bushehr airport has been put out of action, and that 350 state employees have died. Those figures come from the Iranian government itself and have not been independently verified, so treat them with some caution.
Why did oil prices jump again?
Because the market had just priced in the opposite. Brent had shed roughly 16 per cent across three sessions — its steepest such fall since 2020 — betting that a pause in strikes meant the beginning of the end. The missiles flipped that bet: crude rose more than 4 per cent towards 88 dollars a barrel, snapping the losing streak.
For Portugal, that swing is the difference between relief at the pump in a fortnight and another summer of expensive tank refills. The pattern was already visible when Iran turned down the American proposal put forward in Islamabad and the Strait of Hormuz stayed shut.
Does this change anything for travellers?
Little for now, unless the region is your destination — but anyone with a trip booked to the Gulf or neighbouring countries should check airspace status before leaving home and register with their consulate. Portugal’s updated travel advice sits on the Portuguese communities portal, where official guidance appears first.
Image: Lance Cpl. Alyssa Chuluda / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
