Escalating US-Iran tensions drive Brent crude futures to rise nearly $100 per barrel intraday.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, U.S. officials disclosed that the U.S. military launched a new round of strikes against an Iranian oil tanker on Tuesday, with the direct trigger being recent attacks by Tehran targeting U.S. warships in the Middle East. U.S. forces claimed they destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers. Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard twice launched ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days. The U.S. warship successfully evaded the strikes and continued patrolling in regional waters, with no U.S. personnel injured. Iran also stated that in response to the U.S. strikes on multiple Iranian oil tankers, it would issue warnings to all tankers docked at ports and anchorage areas in Kuwait and Bahrain, demanding their crews evacuate immediately, and adding these vessels would become retaliation targets. In subsequent retaliatory actions, Iran launched missile strikes targeting U.S. sites in Jordan. Jordan said Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles at its territory. Affected by this series of actions, Brent crude futures rose to their highest level since the end of July on Tuesday, closing near $98 per barrel and hitting an intraday high of nearly $100. WTI crude futures settled around $93 per barrel, their highest level since early June.