Oil Nears $100 as U.S. Destroys Five Iranian Tankers

Oil futures rose sharply in Asian trading after a fresh round of U.S.-Iran exchanges that escalated over the past several days. U.S. Central Command said American forces destroyed five Iranian crude carriers, and markets reacted to the heightened risk of disruptions to shipments from the region. At the time of reporting both main benchmarks were up by more than $1, with Brent approaching the $100 mark. Centcom identified the five vessels as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, M/T Riesco and M/T Derya, saying four were struck in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island. The U.S. linked the strikes to an earlier incident in which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attempted to target a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles; Centcom released footage showing the M/T Riesco sinking after a strike. Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles toward U.S. forces in Jordan, Jordan’s Armed Forces said, reporting that 20 missiles were launched from Iranian territory and that 18 were intercepted while two fell in unpopulated areas with no reported casualties. The IRGC claimed it hit Jordan’s al-Azraq Air Base and said it targeted additional U.S. vessels and oil tankers, though those assertions have not been independently verified. Markets face additional supply risks beyond the direct strikes. Houthi attacks on Saudi facilities forced temporary halts at some energy sites and sparked fires that Saudi teams were working to contain. Traders are also watching the gradual loss of so-called ‘shadow fleet’ tankers that have moved Iranian and Russian crude, a factor tightening physical availability. An American Petroleum Institute inventory report due later in the day was expected to be monitored for near-term market signals. (Reporting synthesized from Oilprice.com by Josh Owens.)