A fresh flare-up between the United States and Iran sent oil prices sharply higher on Tuesday, with Brent crude futures rising to their highest level since late July and briefly nearing the $100-a-barrel mark. According to The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, American forces launched a new round of strikes on Iranian tankers after recent attacks by Tehran on U.S. naval assets in the Middle East.
U.S. officials said five Iranian crude transport vessels were destroyed. The reported strikes followed two ballistic missile attacks over the previous two days by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard against a U.S. Navy warship. The vessel was said to have evaded both attacks and continued patrol operations in regional waters, with no U.S. casualties reported.
Iran later warned all tankers anchored or docked in Kuwait and Bahrain to evacuate their crews, saying the ships would become targets. In a subsequent retaliatory move, Iranian missiles struck U.S. targets inside Jordan. Jordan said 20 ballistic missiles were fired at its territory. Against that backdrop, Brent settled near $98 a barrel and at one point approached $100 intraday, while WTI crude ended near $93, its highest level since early June.
Oil futures climbed Tuesday as the military confrontation between the United States and Iran intensified, pushing Brent crude to its highest level since late July and briefly close to $100 a barrel during the session.
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, U.S. forces launched a new round of strikes on Iranian tankers on Tuesday. The officials said the immediate trigger was Tehran’s recent attacks on U.S. warships in the Middle East.
The U.S. side said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude transport vessels. Over the previous two days, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had twice launched ballistic missiles at a U.S. Navy warship. The ship evaded the attacks and remained on patrol in regional waters, with no U.S. personnel injured, according to the report.
Iran issues warnings and launches retaliatory strikes
Iran said that in response to U.S. attacks on several Iranian tankers, it would warn all tankers docked or anchored in Kuwait and Bahrain and order crews to leave immediately. Iran said those vessels would become strike targets.
In a later retaliatory action, Iranian missiles hit U.S. targets inside Jordan. Jordan said Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles at its territory.
Crude benchmarks move higher
Following that chain of events, Brent crude futures rose to their highest level since late July. The contract settled near $98 a barrel and came close to the $100 mark intraday.
West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, crude futures ended near $93 a barrel, their highest level since early June.
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