The global benchmark Brent crude climbed past $100 (£74) a barrel on Wednesday, its highest level since the end of July when a tentative cease‑fire between the United States and Iran collapsed.
The price briefly fell to $99.90 before rebounding, underscoring how fresh flare‑ups in the Middle East can push oil markets higher. Prior to the conflict, Brent had been trading around $70 (£52) a barrel.
In retaliation for an Iranian missile strike on a US warship, the United States launched attacks on five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday.
Four of the vessels were hit in the Gulf of Oman and a fifth near Iran's main export hub, Kharg Island, where about 90% of the country’s crude passes through pipelines. One of the struck ships, the M/T Riesco, was reported sunk in the Gulf of Oman.
US officials described the targeted tankers as part of a “multi‑billion‑dollar shadow network” that finances the Revolutionary Guards Corps and its regional proxies.
Tehran responded by firing missiles at a US base in Jordan, most of which were intercepted, and claimed to have attacked two US vessels and eight tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi movement carried out drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabian oil facilities and civilian sites in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, injuring 73 people according to Saudi authorities.
The attacks sparked fires that temporarily halted operations at the affected installations, adding further pressure on an already volatile regional energy market.
The escalation comes as the strategic Strait of Hormuz – through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes – has been effectively closed by the conflict.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as “pretty straightforward”, warning that Iran would continue to target US naval assets and that “for every time they do that … they’re going to lose tankers”.
US Navy Capt Tim Hawkins later clarified that an older, unmanned underwater drone used by US forces had malfunctioned and was not equipped with sensitive data collection equipment, while Iran claimed to have seized an uncrewed US submarine in the same waterway.
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