Live Oil prices surge as Israel attacks Iran
The price of oil surged after Israel launched a wave of strikes in Iran, killing the head of its army and raising the risk of war in the Middle East.
Brent crude jumped by as much as 13pc to more than $76 a barrel - its biggest intraday gain since the early days of the Ukraine war in March 2022 - as uncertainty ramped up in global markets.
Gold rose as much as 1.7pc close to a record high and the US dollar bounced back from the three-year lows hit on Thursday as investors sought out safe haven assets.
Israel killed Iran's chief of the military staff General Mohammad Bagheri as part of a wave of strikes on Iran, including at Tehran's enrichment facility Natanz.
Iran said it would launch a 'harsh and decisive' retaliation, pushing the price of oil higher and wiping out its losses so far this year
Warren Patterson, an analyst at ING, said: 'We are back in an environment of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, leaving the oil market on tenterhooks and requiring it to start pricing in a larger risk premium for any potential supply disruptions.'
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The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Iran says Israel's attack on its state TV building is a war crime
Iran has condemned Israel's attack on a state television building in Tehran as a 'war crime', and called on the UN to take action. The strike on the offices of IRIB during a live broadcast was a 'wicked act' and a 'war crime', said a foreign ministry spokesperson. 'The UN [security council] must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people.' An Israeli attack hit the building as a presenter was speaking live, saying that the studio was filling with dust after 'the sound of aggression against the homeland.' Suddenly, the sound of an explosion could be heard, and the presenter hurried off-camera as dust and debris appeared in the studio. Cries of 'Allahu Akbar' ('God is greatest') could be heard off-screen and the broadcast abruptly switched to prerecorded programming. Live coverage resumed shortly after. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps condemned the attack, calling it 'inhuman, criminal and a terrorist act'. After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, on Friday Israel launched a surprise attack, saying it was targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities. So far it has killed at least 224 people in Iran, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Iran has retaliated with barrages of drone and missiles that have killed at least 24 people in Israel, according to the latest figures from the prime minister's office. Iran does not recognise Israel and has long accused it of carrying out sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities and killing its scientists.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Khamenei and his Guards are militarily defeated. The rest is up to Iranians
Operation Rising Lion has inflicted on Iran the most grievous penalty possible in Middle Eastern culture: humiliation. And the ayatollahs' attempts to restore honour have only led to even more humiliation. Their retaliation so far has been ineffectual. Three hundred and fifty ballistic missiles each containing half a ton of high explosives as well as more than 100 drones have killed 24 Israeli civilians and damaged or destroyed a few buildings. Each of these deaths is a tragedy, but this is hardly the devastation repeatedly promised by Khamenei and his henchmen following Israel's pre-emptive attack. The IDF has shot down around 90 per cent of missiles fired from Iran and only about 5-10 per cent have hit residential areas. The sporadic missile attacks we have seen so far, only 30-60 in each barrage, were always far less likely to overwhelm Israeli air defences than a smaller number of mass strikes combined with drone swarms. IDF interdiction may have prevented hundreds being fired at a time, but it seems almost as if the Iranians have been trying to show strength to their own people rather than having any real hope of inflicting severe damage on Israel. They have a dire need to show such strength because all they have shown so far is weakness. Israel has total superiority over Iranian air space. IDF planes can fly as freely over Tehran as they can over Tel Aviv. The ayatollahs have been unable to protect even the upper levels of their military command, which has been decimated almost at a stroke. This is unprecedented in the annals of warfare. The same goes for some of the most important nuclear scientists who should have been among the most protected people in the country. Heavily guarded nuclear sites have been repeatedly struck, as has energy infrastructure. Substantial numbers of ballistic missiles and drones have been destroyed before they could be launched. Israeli special forces have been operating on the ground in Iran with impunity and the extent of intelligence penetration of the regime and its military seems breathtaking. An evacuation order from Israel is enough to see huge numbers of Tehran's citizens on the move. In short, the regime has lost sovereignty over its own territory. Can it survive this and the even more powerful blows that are likely to come? Israel is a long way from the culminating point of its military domination. We have already seen protesters on the streets in large numbers, chanting 'death to Khamenei' and 'death to the IRGC [ Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ]'. Multiple car bombs have exploded near government buildings. Israel denies involvement, so who is doing it? There are many underground groups representing various factions in Iran and they will certainly be emboldened by the increasingly glaring weakness of the regime. The army, not thought to be the greatest fans of Khamenei or his IRGC, perhaps might step into the breach. Israel is not seeking to impose a new government on the people of Iran. But as a by-product of its actions in the last few days, for the first time since 1979 it is giving an opportunity to Iranians to replace the widely hated dictators with whatever leadership they themselves decide. Prime Minister Netanyahu has appealed directly to the Iranian people to unite against the regime and free themselves from oppression, a message met with widespread enthusiasm among many Iranians. Other world leaders should also do what they can to encourage an end to the rule of the ayatollahs that have been responsible for so much bloodshed, repression and instability, rather than more empty talk about the dangers of a nuclear Iran accompanied by contradictory calls for de-escalation.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Britons in Israel told to notify Foreign Office to receive instructions to leave
British people in Israel are being told to register with the Foreign Office as the government attempts to evacuate citizens threatened by the escalating war in the Middle East. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, told MPs on Monday his department was asking all British nationals to notify the government and receive instructions on how best to leave, after the country closed down its airspace. With Israel and Iran continuing their air attacks against each other, fears are growing for hundreds of thousands of Britons living in the broader region. Lammy told the Commons: 'We are asking all British nationals in Israel to register their presence with the FCDO [Foreign Office], so that we can share important information on the situation and leaving the country. 'Israel and Iran have closed their airspace until further notice, and our ability therefore to provide support in Iran is extremely limited. British nationals in the region should closely monitor our travel advice for further updates.' Keir Starmer, who is in Canada for the G7 summit, separately said: 'For British nationals in Israel, we're giving advice today to register their presence. There will be a portal for that.' The prime minister spent Sunday evening talking to four of the other world leaders at the summit, largely about the Middle East crisis. The prime minister held informal discussions with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor; France's president, Emmanuel Macron; Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister; and Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, Downing Street said. While UK officials stressed this was not a snub to Donald Trump given the US president did not arrive at the summit until later on Sunday night, the talks will be seen as a way for a key group of G7 leaders to present a united front to the volatile US president. Starmer is due to meet Trump later on Monday. In the UK, the government is increasingly concerned about the welfare of British nationals in the region. The government does not have plans to evacuate British citizens itself, but Lammy said on Monday the Foreign Office was sending support teams to Jordan and Egypt to help people who were able to cross the borders with Israel by land. 'The situation remains fast-moving,' he said. 'We expect more strikes in the days to come. This is a moment of grave danger for the region.' Both Lammy and Starmer stressed their desire for both sides to step back from the conflict, which the foreign secretary warned posed 'real risks for the global economy'. Speaking in Canada, Starmer added: 'What we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about. But the risk of the conflict escalating is obvious, I think, and the implications, not just for the region but globally, are really immense, so the focus has to be on de-escalation.'
