Oil Prices Rise After US Strikes on Iranian Tankers and Jordan Intercepts Missiles

According to the BBC, oil prices rose in early Asian trading after US forces struck five Iranian tankers in response to Tehran twice targeting an American warship over the past two days, while Jordan said it intercepted 18 of 20 missiles fired from Iran at a US base in the country. Brent crude was up 1.5% at $99.41 a barrel and US-traded oil was 1.6% higher at $94.55. US Central Command said four of the tankers were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps in the Gulf of Oman and another was hit near Kharg Island, a major oil terminal off Iran's Gulf coast. Jordanian armed forces said two missiles landed in unpopulated areas. Iran warned of further retaliatory strikes and urged crews of US-linked tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their vessels immediately because they would be targeted. The latest escalation came after Iran targeted a US warship with ballistic missiles, which Centcom said were successfully evaded, and after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement attacked energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 people and briefly halting operations at oil facilities. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran continued to try to hit US naval ships and would lose tankers each time it did so.