Crude oil prices climbed past $100 per barrel on Thursday after fresh attacks on maritime traffic and key energy facilities across the Middle East intensified concerns about supply disruptions, as U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran continued without indications that the conflict would end soon.
Tehran carried out several retaliatory actions across the region. A container vessel near Dubai was struck, a fire erupted close to Bahrain’s international airport, a large Saudi oil field was hit by a drone strike, and Iraq was forced to suspend operations at all its oil terminals after an assault targeted the port of Basra along the Persian Gulf.
The escalation follows the outbreak of hostilities that began with a February 28 strike on Iran by the United States and Israel. In response, Iranian authorities have pursued a strategy aimed at causing widespread economic disruption globally in an effort to push Washington and Tel Aviv to reconsider their military actions.
Beyond strikes on oil and energy installations throughout the region, Iran maintains significant control over the Strait of Hormuz a vital maritime route linking the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and responsible for transporting roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
With shipping movement through the strait largely halted, Brent crude the global oil benchmark jumped by about 9 percent on Thursday, surpassing $100 per barrel and marking an increase of roughly 38 percent compared with prices at the beginning of the conflict.