- Published
Oil prices rose past $100 (£74) a barrel on Wednesday after further strikes in the conflict between the US and Iran and continuing Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.
asserted
prices → publish → Arabia
In back and forth attacks, the US hit five Iranian tankers in reprisal strikes after Tehran targeted one of its warships.
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Tehran → hit → warships
Brent crude - which is the global benchmark for prices - has not been as expensive since the end of July, when a ceasefire between Iran and the US collapsed.
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ceasefire → collapse → Iran
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement also attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and have been targeting tankers in the Red Sea.
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movement → back → Sea
Brent crude did dip back down to $99.90 a barrel, but any fresh flare-ups in the Middle East could see it pushed higher again.
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it → dip → East
The US strikes on the five Iranian tankers saw four in the Gulf of Oman linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) hit as well as another near Kharg Island.
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Corps → see → Island
Tehran responded by launching missiles at a US base in Jordan - most of which were shot down - and said it attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
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it → respond → Hormuz
The Houthis and Saudi Arabia have also been exchanging strikes since July after their own informal ceasefire unravelled.
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ceasefire → exchange → July
On Monday the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing a prison in al-Hazm and killing 11 people.
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Houthis → accuse → people
Then on Tuesday the Saudi authorities said Houthis had struck civilian and economic sites in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran.
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Houthis → say → Abha
Tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the US have escalated in the past week, more than six months after conflict broke out when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.
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US → escalate → February
Oil prices have fluctuated wildly since the war began, and pressure on the industry has been exacerbated by wider regional instability.
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pressure → fluctuate → instability
Before the conflict Brent crude had been priced at about $70 (£52) a barrel.
But the war has seen the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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which → price → oil
The rising costs have sparked huge price leaps in petrol around the world for motorists at the pumps.
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costs → rise → pumps
The latest round of escalation comes after Iran targeted a US warship with ballistic missiles, which Centcom said were "successfully evaded".
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Centcom → come → missiles
It added that no American troops were harmed during the attacks.
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troops → add → attacks
In response, the US said that the five Iranian oil tankers it targeted were "part of a multi-billion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies".
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that → say → IRGC
One of the ships it had struck, the M/T Riesco, sunk in the Gulf of Oman, Centcom later said, posting a video on X of the damaged vessel.
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Centcom → strike → vessel
Kharg Island - where one Iranian tanker was attacked in the latest round of US strikes - hosts Iran's main terminal for exporting oil.
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tanker → attack → oil
Some 90% of the country's crude oil passes through the island in the Gulf, transported through pipes from the mainland.
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% → pass → mainland
Also on Tuesday, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement attacked energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 people, according to Saudi authorities.
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movement → back → authorities
The drone and missile attack caused fires at oil facilities and installations that led to a temporary halt in operations, Saudi Arabia's military and energy ministry said.
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ministry → cause → operations
When asked by reporters about the latest tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said the situation was "pretty straightforward".
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situation → ask → Tuesday
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships.
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Iran → continue → ships
And, for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers.
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they → do → tankers
And I think you'll see that again today," Rubio told reporters during a trip in Colombia.
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Rubio → think → Colombia
The US strikes on Tuesday came hours after Iran's Navy claimed it had seized an uncrewed US submarine in the Strait of Hormuz.
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it → come → Hormuz
US Navy Capt Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for Centcom, said that the "underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago" and was used to survey regional waters "in support of ongoing operations".
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drone → say → operations
The defective drone was "an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment", he said, adding that US operations in regional waters were ongoing.
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operations → collect → waters
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