Brent crude fell below $100 per barrel on Friday as reports of alleged false flag operations in the Gulf region added to uncertainty in the oil market.
Brent crude dropped $2.83, or around 3 percent, to $99.48 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined $3.35 to $89.52. Brent was heading toward a weekly loss of around 4.7 percent.
An individual working for Iran’s state news agency claimed that the US and its partners were carrying out false flag operations in the Strait of Hormuz to divert attention from the upcoming 2026 elections in Israel.
The claims came after a Flydubai commercial aircraft traveling toward Israel was involved in an incident that nearly resulted in a crash. Passengers and crew reportedly entered the cockpit and helped land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.
Despite logistical challenges in the region, Gulf oil producers have increasingly relied on alternative pipelines and ship-to-ship transfers. Some tankers are also being allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under strict security arrangements.
However, refined fuel supplies, particularly diesel and gasoline, remain severely disrupted. Refined petroleum product flows through Hormuz have fallen to around 677,000 barrels per day from approximately 3.6 million barrels per day before the war, according to The Guardian.
The disruption means the main bottleneck in the global oil market is increasingly shifting from crude supplies to refined petroleum products.
European countries are considering releasing diesel reserves to ease pressure on fuel markets, while the International Energy Agency is also considering a release of crude reserves.
