Oil up 6pc after Israel's strikes on Iran
HOUSTON: Oil prices fell off multi-month highs hit earlier on Friday as Israeli air strikes avoided Iranian oil sites, but prices still up about 6% as investors worried that the tensions could disrupt Middle East oil supplies.
Brent crude futures were up $4.11, or 5.9%, to $73.47 a barrel by 11:12 a.m. EDT (1712 GMT), after earlier soaring over 13% to an intraday high of $78.50, the strongest level since January 27. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $4.38, or 6.4%, at $72.42, after earlier jumping over 14% to its highest since January 21 at $77.62.
Friday's gains were the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022 when Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused a spike in energy prices.
Israel said it had targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran has promised a harsh response.
US President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme, to put an end to the 'next already planned attacks.' The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said oil refining and storage facilities had not been damaged and continued to operate.
'Almost every time you get that big fear response, but then it's almost always not as bad as first thought,' said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. 'The Israelis haven't targeted oil refineries and oil pipelines. They haven't targeted oil ships.'
One primary concern, according to analysts, was whether the latest developments would affect the Strait of Hormuz, said Nikos Tzabouras, senior market analyst at Tradu.com.
'Sustained upside would require actual disruptions to physical flows - such as damage to Iran's oil infrastructure or a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global chokepoint,' Tzabouras said in a note on Friday morning.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Iran says US, UK, France will be targeted if they intervene
Photo: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS Listen to article Iran has warned the United States, United Kingdom and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Tehran's strikes on Israel, while calling continuing Iran-US nuclear talks 'unjustifiable' amid persisting Israeli attacks on the country. Iran state media reported on Saturday that Tehran issued this warning to the US, UK and France over any potential involvement in intercepting Iranian attacks. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday called the continuing Iran-US nuclear talks unjustifiable while "barbarous" Israeli attacks persist on the country. Read More: Israel's Katz warns 'Tehran will burn' if missile strikes persist On Friday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the dialogue with the US over Tehran's nuclear programme is "meaningless" after Israel's biggest-ever military strike against Iran, accusing Washington of supporting the attack. US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme that the US has demanded in talks that had been due to resume on Sunday. But with Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. The United States, Israel's main ally, helped shoot down Iranian missiles, two US officials said. "If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Iran and Israel traded missiles and airstrikes on Saturday, the day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against its old enemy, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it from building an atomic weapon. In Pictures: Iran's retaliatory strikes on Israel In Tehran, Iranian state TV reported that around 60 people, including 20 children, had been killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. This number may differ from the Israeli count, as the ambulance service said three people, including a man and a woman, were killed and dozens wounded. An Israeli official said Iran had fired around 200 ballistic missiles in four waves, and also claimed to have intercepted surface-to-surface Iranian missiles and drones, while two rockets were fired from Gaza. In the western suburb of Ramat Gan, near Ben Gurion Airport, Linda Grinfeld described her apartment being damaged: "We were sitting in the shelter, and then we heard such a boom. It was awful." Iran had vowed to avenge Friday's Israeli onslaught, which gutted Iran's nuclear and military leadership and damaged atomic plants and military bases. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. WATCH: Iran missile strike hits IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv Gulf Arab states that have long mistrusted Iran but fear coming under attack in any wider conflict have urged calm, as worries about disruption to the Gulf region's crucial oil exports boosted the price of crude by about 7% on Friday. Iranian general and parliament member Esmail Kosari said the country was seriously reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet for oil shipped from the Gulf. Iranian Nuclear Sites Damaged Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. A military official on Saturday said Israel had caused significant damage to Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, but had not so far operated in another uranium enrichment site, Fordow. The official said Israel had "eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership" and had killed nine nuclear scientists who "were main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) programme." Also Read: Pakistan denounces Israeli attack on Iran at UNSC Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian in line with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. However, it has repeatedly hidden parts of its programme from international inspectors, and the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday reported it in violation of the NPT. Iranian talks with the United States to resolve the nuclear dispute have stuttered this year, with the next meeting set for Sunday. Tehran implied it would not attend but stopped short of pulling out. "The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless," state media quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying. "It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard."
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Nevatim, Tel Nof, Ovda airbases targeted in Iranian missile strikes, IRGC claims
Listen to article Iran has launched a large-scale retaliatory strike on Israeli military targets in what it calls Operation True Promise III, a senior Iranian commander announced Friday night. The escalation comes just hours after a deadly Israeli airstrike hit residential areas and strategic facilities in Tehran and elsewhere, killing several top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, a senior advisor to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told Iranian state television that the operation targeted three Israeli airbases believed to have been involved in launching attacks on Iran. Speaking to Tasnim News, General Vahidi said missiles struck Nevatim and Ovda airbases—key Israeli military installations said to house command-and-control systems and electronic warfare capabilities—as well as Tel Nof airbase near Tel Aviv. Additional strikes reportedly targeted Israel's Ministry of Defense and military-industrial sites in central Tel Aviv. Vahidi further said that 150 targets were identified and hit in a multi-phase assault involving hundreds of ballistic missiles, which it said managed to penetrate Israel's multi-layered air defense system. The Iranian assault follows an early morning Israeli attack on June 13 that killed several senior military officials, including Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, and Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the IRGC. At least six Iranian nuclear scientists were also reported killed. In a televised statement, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the Israeli attack and vowed severe retribution. 'With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see,' he said. The Israeli government has not yet issued an official response to Iran's claims.
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iran's Esfahan and Natanz nuclear sites significantly damaged, says Israeli military official
Iran's Esfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were significantly damaged due to Israeli strikes on the two facilities, an Israeli military official said on Saturday. The official said that it would take more than a few weeks for Iran to repair damage at the two sites, adding that the strikes also killed nine senior nuclear Iranian scientists. Iran confirms limited damage at Iran's Fordow nuclear site, atomic body says Israel attacked over 150 targets in Iran with hundreds of munitions, the official said, adding that the aerial road to the Iranian capital Tehran was effectively open. He said that Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel, most of which were intercepted.
