Oil holds above $100 and stocks fall as Khamenei targets Hormuz

Oil prices remain above $100 as Khamenei threatens the Strait of Hormuz, causing global stock markets to decline.

Oil prices held around $100 on Friday (March 13, 2026) and most equity markets dropped after Iran’s leader called for the blocking of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and opening up of new fronts in the war against the United States and Israel.

With the conflict heading towards its third week and showing no signs of ending, investors are growing increasingly worried about an extended crisis that could fan inflation and hammer the global economy.

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Tehran has targeted energy facilities this week across the Gulf, with ships hit near Iraq, fuel tanks attacked in Bahrain and drones fired at oil fields in Saudi Arabia.

And it warned on Thursday (March 12, 2026) that it would “set the region’s oil and gas on fire” if its own energy infrastructure and ports were targeted.

In his first public comments since succeeding his father four days ago, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes — must remain effectively shut.