Iran Was ‘Taking It Easy’ on Trump, Says Analyst — Fresh Tanker Strikes Near Oman Raise Fears the War Could Trigger a Bigger Oil Shock

Obsidian Risk Advisors Managing Principal Brett Erickson on Sunday warned that Iran’s continued strikes on vessels indicate that prolonging the Iran war may not be in the best interests of the U.S. Iran Was Taking It Easy on Trump On Sunday, Erickson took to the social media platform X that the “amount of vessels” Iran was striking showed “how absurd any continuation of this war would be from the United States.” He added that Iran was “just taking it EASY on Trump.” The amount of vessels Iran is striking shows just how absurd any continuation of this war would be from the United States.Iran was just taking it EASY on Trump.— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) October 11, 2026 According to an incident report by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO), a vessel near the vicinity of Sohar anchorage, Oman, was hit by an “Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV).” Local authorities were assisting in the evacuation of the crew, and the extent of the environmental damage was unknown at the time. Erickson, in a post on X, said that the “strike took place DEEP in the Gulf of Oman near Sohar Port,” and that it was “likely the furthest strike” from Iran into the Gulf of Oman. The analyst said that Indian authorities released a statement about the incident, saying that two Indian mariners were missing following the strikes on the Marshall Islands-flagged “Petro Dolphin” vessel. BREAKING: Another vessel has been struck by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today.Very notably, this strike took place DEEP in the Gulf of Oman near Sohar Port. This is likely the furthest strike we have seen from Iran into the Gulf of Oman.According to Ambrey… pic.twitter.com/r6QzULB9RI— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) October 11, 2026 Erickson also shared a statement released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, saying that another vessel, the “MT Valthera,” was also struck by Iran. The analyst said that “both vessels needed to be completely evacuated” following the strikes, which meant that there was “significant” damage, he said. “This is unsustainable. Iran was just taking it easy,” he concluded. NEW: According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, there is yet ANOTHER vessel that still needs to be reported to the UKMTO.Just in the past hour, UKMTO report 156-26 was filed for MT Petro Dolphin. 2 of the 11 Indian mariners are still missing.But the MT Valthera was… pic.twitter.com/srdi9r6gVy— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) October 11, 2026 Erickson had earlier said that Iran’s strikes outside the Strait of Hormuz posed a threat to ship-to-ship transfers and threatened the flow of oil. Ship tracker Kpler had earlier released provisional data which showed that the movement of oil had increased from the Middle East. However, Iranian strikes on vessels had picked up too. Oil Movement The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contracts expiring in November 2026 grew 1.08% to $92.82 at the time of writing this article. Brent futures contracts ending in December rose too, growing 1.31% to $106.09 at press time. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) ETF grew 1.60% to $150.64 during pre-market trading on Monday. The ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (NYSE:UCO) also recorded a 1.53% growth to $57.68 during pre-market trading. The national average gas price also fell on Monday to $4.3556/gallon, according to data provided by the American Automobile Association (AAA). On the diesel front, the national average price remained above the $6 mark per gallon. On Monday, the national average price of diesel was $6.2665/gallon, down over 1 cent from Sunday’s average of $6.2771/gallon. Iran Says US Accepted Some Conditions The comments come as Iran’s Security Chief Mohsen Rezaee said that the U.S. had accepted some of Iran’s demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but warned that the response was “adequate” from the U.S. Rezaee had earlier also warned that Iran would strike data centers and undersea cables. On the other hand, the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, was struck again on Sunday, killing one Pakistani national and wounding 11 people, a day after a separate attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. Read Also: JB Pritzker and Trump Agree on Something—Dyed Diesel, but This Analyst Says the Move Will Have Little Effect on Prices Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock