- WTI crude oil briefly surpasses $100 per barrel; Brent reached $113.44.
- Prices surpass the February 27 levels of $67.02 (WTI) and $72.48 (Brent).
- After Trump’s warning, Iran threatens to blow up energy sites of US allies.
TOKYO: Oil prices rose early Monday after US President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz or face destruction of its energy infrastructure, and Israel warned that the war would continue for several more weeks.
Shortly after opening at 22:00 GMT, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark crude oil, for May delivery rose 1.8 percent to just over $100 per barrel, before retreating slightly.
The price of North Sea Brent crude for May delivery rose at a similar pace, to $113.44 a barrel, before falling to around $111 about 45 minutes into trading.
On February 27, the day before the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began, they stood at $67.02 and $72.48 per barrel, respectively.
Trump and Tehran have issued tit-for-tat threats as the war entered its fourth week, with the US president demanding the Islamic republic reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas shipments transit.
The bottleneck has nearly halted all oil shipments through the narrow waterway and oil prices have soared.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday night that US forces would “hit and destroy” Iranian power plants – “starting with the largest first” – if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours, or 23:44 GMT on Monday, depending on the time of his post.
In response, Iran’s military said it will attack energy and desalination infrastructure “belonging to the United States and the regime in the region,” according to the Fars news agency.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said on Sunday his forces were expanding their ground campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and warned of a protracted operation.
“We are now preparing to advance ground operations and targeted attacks according to an organized plan,” he said.
In retaliation for the US and Israeli military operation, Iran is carrying out missile and drone attacks against infrastructure (particularly energy targets) in countries allied to Washington, as well as against ships in the Gulf, specifically threatening those that venture into the strait.
