Oil Prices Surge as US Strikes Iran’s Island, Brent Tops $106
Oil prices surged on Tuesday, supported by bargain hunting following recent price declines and reports of US military strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, which heightened concerns over potential
International benchmark Brent crude futures for January delivery rose about 1.5% to $106.40 a barrel, up from the previous close of $104.77.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December delivery rose 1.7% to $98.06 a barrel, up from $96.42 at the previous close.
US military forces carried out “defensive” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, local media reported, citing a US official. “This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets,” the official was quoted as saying.
The attack, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came as US President Donald Trump sought to downplay the possibility of renewed large-scale military confrontation with Iran following Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.”
However, US officials told the Journal that American forces have continued carrying out smaller-scale strikes against Iranian targets for several weeks.
According to the report, some US officials said the operations were aimed at preventing Iran from developing the capability to threaten or attack commercial shipping in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Monday that it had downed two US drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to semi-official Tasnim news agency.
However, reports of progress in diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran eased supply concerns and limited further price gains.
US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Washington had made progress in talks with Iran and expressed optimism about reaching a negotiated settlement.
“I actually just spoke with the president of the United States about an hour ago about this,” Vance told reporters. “Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it.”
“The Iranians are always a little unpredictable, and as the president always says, he retains kinetic options. He retains non-kinetic options, but we’ve certainly made some progress. We’ll see if we can make some more,” he said.
Asked whether Iran had been given a deadline before US strikes could resume, Vance said: “No, we haven’t set deadlines.”
Vance’s remarks came hours after Trump said during the reopening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington that Iran was seeking an agreement to end the conflict, now in its ninth month.
“They want to make a deal, and that could happen,” Trump said, adding that Iran had asked Washington to stop targeting its lead exchange will.
Iran also said Monday that it continued to exchange messages with the US through mediators, and that the seven-stage diplomatic proposal could be fully implemented within two days.
