Oil prices rise to six-week high as US-Iran tensions escalate

Oil prices rose more than 1.5% to their highest in more than six weeks on Thursday, with the United States launching a new round of strikes on Iran and Yemen's Houthis targeting oil tankers in the Red Sea. Brent crude futures rose $1.93, or 2%, to $96 by 0011 GMT, the highest since June 8. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.44, or 1.7%, to $88.27.

The U.S. military said it carried out a 12th consecutive night of attacks on Iran hours after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said an oil tanker had caught fire after an explosion while attempting to pass through a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, and that two other tankers had turned back. The Guards said the strait was under their control and "completely closed" while U.S. actions continued in the region, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran. The Iran-aligned Houthis threatened to target vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said they had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers, and maritime security reports said one of the vessels, the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia, had been hit in the Red Sea.