U.S.-Iran Tensions Remain High As Washington Begins ‘Economic D-Day.’ Oil Is Dropping Anyway.

Oil prices are falling on Monday even though tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high and Washington announces the beginning of an "economic D-Day" against Tehran.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.50% at 9:24 a.m. ET and clocked in at $91.60 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, dropped .1.89% and stood at $85.50 at the same time.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is unleashing an "economic D-Day" against Iran, calling it the "greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary."

"The Islamic Republic has subsisted by dressing extortion as security guarantees. It has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as negotiable. Under President Trump, that era is over. And those who fear the danger of defying Tehran ought not to discount the cost of testing Washington," Bessent claimed in a social media post.

He went on to say that Trump "has created the conditions to leverage every agency, every authority and action many assumed we would never summon. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.

Officials from the Trump administration, including the president himself, have said the U.S. will double down on economic pressure against Tehran, choosing that path over a return to active conflict.

U.S. military officials have also said they have helped the transport of over 660 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran's blockade over the past months.

Concretely, U.S. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the force, said last week it had assisted some 1,300 vessels sail through the waterway since early May. "Multiple routes remain free and open for commercial transit," he added.

CNBC noted that, based on Centcom estimations, the force has helped the transport of some 7 million barrels per day. This is still considerably below pre-war levels, when about 20 million barrels made it through the waterway every day.

The remarks follow a recent report claiming that the U.S. military is carrying out missions to help vessels transit the strait despite Iran's blockade.

Citing officials familiar with the matter, Axios detailed on Thursday that the strategy has managed to guarantee the shipping of about 10 millions of barrels a day.

Overall, between 15 and 20 tankers are entering and exiting the waterway at night through a channel along the coast of Oman.

U.S. forces are not only escorting the vessels, but also helping them pick up oil from countries in the region and then exit.

"We have been controlling the southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz for two months now. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps can be a nuisance, but they don't control the strait. We do," an official told the outlet.

The military is using fighter jets to protect the vessels from potential missiles and drones launched from Iran, and made possible by a recent launch of strikes that weakened Tehran's radar and maritime surveillance systems. Some ships, however, have been hit.