Story summary
Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel on Wednesday after a series of attacks in the Middle East, with Brent crude futures trading at $99.93 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude at $94.52 a barrel. The price hike comes as tensions between the US and Iran continue to escalate, with the US striking five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday and Iran launching missiles at US targets in Jordan.
Saudi Arabia reported that its energy infrastructure was attacked by the Houthis, causing temporary pauses in operations and injuring 73 civilians. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter, and the attacks have raised concerns about the security of global oil supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz has become a key concern, with just four ships passing through the waterway on Saturday and six on Sunday. Before the war, the strait carried more than 20% of the world's energy supply as oil was shipped to ports around the globe.
In response to the attacks, the US Central Command said it destroyed five Iranian tankers, warning crews to abandon ship before striking. Iran has launched missiles at US targets in Jordan and warned tankers near Kuwait and Bahrain to evacuate.
The price of oil has been rising steadily since the start of the Iran war on February 28, with Brent crude surging as high as $126.41 a barrel on April 30. The global price of oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since July, adding to uncertainty over future supply.
Meanwhile, a gallon of regular gasoline averaged $4.15 in the US on Tuesday, up 26% from a year ago.
Written for “Escalating Middle East Conflict” on 2026-09-09,
grounded in this article and the 74 other(s) covering the same event.
What to know about the Iran war today:
- Jordan said Wednesday its military intercepted 18 Iranian missiles and reported no casualties.
asserted
military → know → casualties
Iran's state-run media said Tehran had targeted U.S. assets in the region in retaliation for American attacks on its oil tankers.
asserted
Tehran → run → tankers
- The U.S. military's Central Command said Tuesday night it had destroyed 5 oil tankers in response to recent attempts to attack U.S. warships with ballistic missiles.
asserted
it → say → missiles
- The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, hit $100 per barrel Wednesday morning, its highest level since late July, as the U.S. and Iran's standoff over the Strait of Hormuz flared up again with new attacks.
asserted
standoff → hit → attacks
Several vessels in Gulf damaged, British maritime agency reports
Several vessels in the Persian Gulf region were on fire Wednesday, a U.K. Navy agency reported, after Iran said it had attacked more than a dozen ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz without its permission.
asserted
it → damage → permission
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said "several merchant vessels in the Northern Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman" were hit by "disabling fire as part of ongoing military activity in the region."
asserted
vessels → say → region
The center did not name the ships in question, but the U.S. said Tuesday night it had destroyed 5 Iranian oil tankers in the gulf.
asserted
it → name → gulf
It also said a vessel 24 nautical miles northwest of Port Rashid, in the UAE, was listing, potentially due to an attack.
asserted
vessel → say → attack
"The Master of a tanker has reported sighting a vessel listing while at anchor, possibly indicating water ingress following an attack from an unknown projectile," it said.
uncertain
it → report → projectile
On Wednesday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had attacked two U.S. warships, eight oil tankers and 10 "non-compliant vessels" trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
asserted
it → say → Hormuz
The U.S. military's Central Command quickly denied that any American ships had been struck.
asserted
ships → deny → ?
U.S. military denies Iran's claim to have damaged U.S. warships with missile attack
The U.S. military's Central Command denied on Wednesday Iran's claim to have inflicted "heavy damage" on U.S. warships.
uncertain
Command → deny → warships
"No U.S. Navy warship has been struck; all IRGC attempted attacks failed," CENTCOM said in a post on social media.
asserted
CENTCOM → strike → media
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed earlier that its naval forces had targeted two U.S. warships, along with eight other vessels, and "inflicted heavy damage on them."
asserted
forces → claim → them
CENTCOM dismissed the claim as "completely FALSE" and said U.S. forces had destroyed 10 Iranian tankers "just in the last week."
uncertain
forces → dismiss → week
Oil prices could hit $120, analysis finds, as Americans absorb $100 billion fuel hit
An analysis by Goldman Sachs has forecast that heightened attacks in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea could push global oil prices above $120 a barrel, which would add to the surging fuel costs Americans have faced during the Iran war.
uncertain
Americans → hit → war
The investment bank's forecast implies a roughly 20% increase in the cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, which is trading at nearly $100 a barrel.
asserted
which → imply → 100
Oil prices have spiked in recent weeks as the Middle East conflict drags on, with U.S. military forces striking three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday and the Houthi rebels attacking Saudi oil facilities.
asserted
rebels → spike → facilities
Iranian forces say they targeted American warships again
asserted
they → say → warships
Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that it had targeted two U.S. warships and eight other vessels in retaliation for U.S. strikes on five Iranian oil tankers the previous day.
asserted
it → say → tankers
The IRGC said its naval forces had targeted the vessels in the Persian Gulf region, claiming to have "inflicted heavy damage on them."
asserted
forces → say → them
There was no immediate response from the U.S. military, which said Tuesday that it had warned the crews of the five Iranian tankers to abandon ship "before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable."
asserted
vessels → be → ship
The new attacks claimed by the IRGC are the latest in a series of flare-ups in fighting between the U.S. and Iran since a ceasefire agreed to by both sides in June fell apart over disagreements regarding control over ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
asserted
ceasefire → claim → Hormuz
Oil hits $100 per barrel for first time since July amid fighting flare-up
The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, hit $100 per barrel Wednesday morning, the highest it's been since late July.
asserted
it → hit → July
The increase is a continuation of an upward trend seen since August and follows a flare-up in fighting between the U.S. and Iran.
asserted
increase → see → U.S.
The U.S. announced late Tuesday it had struck 5 Iranian oil tankers in response to an attempted attack on its warships in the region.
asserted
it → announce → region
Iran retaliated by targeting a military base in Jordan that hosts U.S. forces.
asserted
that → retaliate → forces
The Jordanian military said it intercepted 18 Iranian missiles and reported no casualties.
asserted
it → say → casualties
Protesters urge South Korea to not join U.S. war with Iran
Dozens of South Koreans urged their government on Wednesday not to deploy troops to the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
asserted
Dozens → urge → Hormuz
The protesters across from the U.S. embassy compound in Seoul waved signs saying "Do not join a war of aggression" as the country's leaders weigh a "contribution" to the waterway's security.
"
asserted
leaders → wave → security
We cannot send our young people into a sea of death!" chanted the protesters on the steps outside Seoul's Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.
asserted
protesters → send → Arts
The protest came a day after South Korean defence authorities said they had sent a fact-finding mission to assess the situation in Hormuz, while stressing that no decision had been made on any deployment.
asserted
decision → come → deployment
South Korea said Friday it was considering "contributions" to U.S. security efforts along the strait provided that its own military readiness was not compromised.
asserted
readiness → say → strait
Iran has warned that any South Korean deployment would be "regarded as direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences."
asserted
deployment → warn → consequences
Iran-backed Houthi group reports over 30 strikes across Yemen
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis reported more than 30 Saudi strikes on several regions on Wednesday, a day after the rebels launched major attacks on their neighbor, injuring dozens of people.
There has been no official comment from Saudi Arabia about the Houthi report.
asserted
rebels → back → report
Saudi authorities previously said that Houthi attacks caused temporary shutdowns at oil sites and injured 73 people early Tuesday.
asserted
attacks → say → people
The rebels reported Saudi airstrikes following the attacks.
asserted
rebels → report → attacks
Deadly fighting reignited in Yemen last week, when the Houthis launched a major campaign to seize territory near the Bab al-Mandab strait.
asserted
Houthis → reignite → strait
The strait has become an increasingly important route for Saudi oil since Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, choking Gulf exports.
CBS/AFP
Price of oil trades at $99 per barrel again as open hostilities resume
The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, was trading at over $99 early Wednesday, in a continuation of the upward trend seen since August.
asserted
price → become → August
Meanwhile, the benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.2% to $94.17 a barrel.
asserted
crude → rise → 94.17
…and 16 more, not listed.
