Oil rises by more than a dollar after Iran launches missiles at Jordan - Sarmad

Oil prices surged for the fourth consecutive session, rising by more than one dollar in early trading on Wednesday after Iran launched new attacks on US military facilities in the Gulf region, further expanding the conflict across the area.

Brent crude futures rose by $1.57, or 1.6 percent, to $99.49 per barrel by 00:01 GMT. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, increased by $1.60, or 1.72 percent, to $94.63 per barrel.

Brent crude prices have jumped by approximately 25 percent since early August, as hopes for a permanent resolution to the six-month-old war faded and fighting reignited.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that it attacked two US destroyers and what it described as a US base in Al-Azraq, Jordan, with ballistic missiles in response to US attacks on Iranian oil tankers.

The Jordanian News Agency, citing the armed forces, reported that air defense systems intercepted 20 ballistic missiles, successfully destroying 18 of them. Two missiles fell in uninhabited areas, and the attack resulted in no casualties.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tehran that the United States would continue to strike Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for attempts to attack US warships.

Rubio told journalists during a visit to Colombia, “Iran continues its attempts to strike US Navy ships, and every time it does so or attempts to do so, it will lose oil tankers.”

US Central Command stated on Tuesday that its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on September 8, following attempts to attack a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles in the preceding two days.