Global oil prices have jumped to an eye-watering $100 a barrel, the highest since July, as military tensions heat up between the United States, Iran, and Houthi rebels in the Gulf and Yemen. The global benchmark, Brent crude, spiked after the U. S. and Iran traded blows on tankers. Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels set their sights on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
By Wednesday afternoon, a barrel of Brent crude was trading at $100.70, up 2.83% from Tuesday's close. Before the U. S. and Israel got entangled with Iran in February, prices were lingering around $70 a barrel.
The situation escalated as Iranian missile and drone assaults on commercial shipping, coupled with a U. S. naval blockade, essentially sealed off the Strait of Hormuz. This vital artery in the Gulf funnels 20% of the world's oil and LNG shipments.
On Wednesday morning, the U. S. military's Central Command (Centcom) confirmed it had taken out five Iranian oil tankers. Four of these—the Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1, and Riesco—were linked to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and were struck in the Gulf of Oman. The fifth tanker, the Derya, was hit near Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub.
Centcom reported these strikes followed two ballistic missile launches by the IRGC at a U. S. warship over two days. The American ship dodged the missiles, with no injuries to personnel, Centcom assured. Crews were ordered off the Iranian vessels before the hits.
The IRGC Aerospace Force claimed it fired missiles overnight at U. S. maintenance facilities, hangars, and aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, retaliating for the U. S. strikes. Jordan's military said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles, with two landing harmlessly in unpopulated areas.
Later, the IRGC navy said it attacked two U. S. Navy destroyers and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, causing “heavy damage.” Centcom dismissed these claims as false, saying its ships weren't hit.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported several merchant ships in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman suffered “disabling fire” amid the military clashes. One vessel, 24 nautical miles (45km) northwest of Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates, was seen listing at anchor, possibly from water entry after being struck by an unknown projectile.
Iraqi authorities managed to put out a fire on the Panama-flagged tanker New Andros in the Gulf. This vessel, loaded with two million barrels of fuel oil, had been hit by a drone.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi announced on Iranian state TV that a new “prohibited zone” would soon be declared, covering parts of the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea, along routes leading to the Strait of Hormuz. Vessels entering without coordination would face sanctions, he warned.
Asked about the escalating tit-for-tat strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on Tuesday during a trip to Colombia.
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And"
