Iran War Fuels £2.4bn Profits for BP

BP’s profits more than doubled in the first quarter of 2026 on the back of soaring oil prices triggered by the war on Iran.

The British energy giant posted profits of £2.4bn between January and March following “exceptional” oil trading results.

The price of Brent crude, which is used as the benchmark for global oil prices, spiked after Iran closed the strait of Hormuz in March following the joint US-Israel strikes on the Islamic Republic, codenamed Operation Epic Fury. 

The strait, which runs between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, carries 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas and is a chokepoint for the global economy. 

Before the conflict began on 28 February, a single barrel retailed for $73. That jumped to almost $120 at the height of the attacks and currently stands at $111 a barrel. 

The strait of Hormuz remains provisionally closed with around 2,000 ships stranded in the Gulf, although one tanker carrying liquefied natural gas, the Mubaraz, has reportedly traversed the waterway.

The price spike comes amid a grim humanitarian picture, with Iranian human rights advocates at the HRANA news agency documenting 1,701 civilian deaths in Iran from the war. 

The oil crisis is expected to affect the cost of living in Britain for at least the next eight months, with consumers facing higher prices for energy, food and flights.

BP, formerly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, once enjoyed a monopoly on the extraction and sale of Iran’s oil. The industry was nationalised in 1951 by Iran’s prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was overthrown two years later in a coup backed by Britain.

Tom Midlane is a freelance journalist.