US denies Iranian missile hit on warship, markets react anyway

The US has strenuously denied claims by Iranian state media that two Iranian missiles struck a US warship near the Strait of Hormuz. But the markets responded anyway, with the price of oil spiking in response. Iran is still firmly in control of the strait.

On 4 May, the US Central Command posted the following rebuttal:

🚫 CLAIM: Iranian state media claims that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles.

✅ TRUTH: No U.S. Navy ships have been struck. U.S. forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports. pic.twitter.com/VFxovxLU6G

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 4, 2026

Brent crude rises amid simmering escalations

Commenting on the latest escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported that:

Oil prices are moving higher on renewed concerns about the safety of transiting the Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s navy claimed it had prevented two US ships from entering the waterway.

It added that:

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is up 3.8% to $112.3 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, is up a similar margin to $105.6 a barrel. (For context, oil is traded as a futures contract, which means an agreement to buy or sell at a specified price on a future date. Monday’s WTI price reflects oil for delivery in June, whereas Brent reflects oil for delivery in July.)

The outlet warned that US gas prices could reach USD 5 a gallon “if the strait remains closed,” while Iran later denied that the US had destroyed Iranian vessels.

BREAKING: An Iranian military official has denied a US Navy report that Iranian small boats were sunk, according to Iranian state media.

🔴 More on https://t.co/hGzrK2N8WC pic.twitter.com/EqdkwpyEOR

— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) May 4, 2026

Trump scrambles for off-ramp

Drop Site News reported that US president Donald Trump will re-start the war (amid a tenuous ceasefire) in a desperate bid to claim victory:

President Donald Trump is scrambling to find a way to declare victory in the war against Iran—vacillating between public demands to make a deal and threats to unleash a new round of massive bombing.

An anonymous Iranian official told the US-based outlet that:

Based on current assessments, another military attack seems likely. [Trump’s] goals from the naval blockade haven’t been achieved.

The official added that:

He [Trump] can’t keep the blockade going for much longer. We think the U.S. will focus on Hormuz, so military attacks and operations will likely expand along Iran’s coastline, along with a new wave of assassinations [against Iranian leaders] they may pursue jointly with Israel.

As the Canary previously reported out, the US-Israel attack effectively made Iran an oil superpower. The straits handle one fifth of the world’s fossil energy supply:

The Straits of Hormuz are a narrow channel between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. They are natural chokepoint. Like the English channel, they are only 21 miles wide at their narrowest point. 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through annually.

The risks were well known. The straits been the topic of discussion for decades. Iran has long developed an ability to mine, blockade, or otherwise control the straits if attacked by the US and Israel.

Iran did exactly that.

Trump’s war backfires

US-Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. Iran was offering concessions in negotiations at the time. The Pentagon has since stated there was no imminent threat from Iran. And the UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

The US has achieved none of its original war aims. Iran predictably closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil channel, sending energy prices soaring and spawning a global energy crisis.

Far from being defeated, Iran has said the war will continue until:

the enemy’s inevitable and permanent humiliation, disgrace, regret, and surrender.

Trump came to power on an anti-war ‘America First’ ticket. He now faces worldwide humiliation.

It remains to be seen exactly how the US can extract itself from this mire of its own making. Pakistan-brokered peace talks have amounted to little.

What seems certain is that when this war comes to a close US standing in the world will have been greatly diminished.

Featured image via the Canary