Iran says oil will reach $200 a barrel amid escalating Middle East crisis
TEHRAN: Iran’s military command said on Wednesday the world should be prepared for oil to hit $200 a barrel, as three more ships came under attack in the blockaded Gulf.
Iran fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back and disrupt energy supplies despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense US-Israeli strikes yet.
Oil prices that shot up earlier this week have eased and stock markets have rebounded, with investors betting for now that US President Donald Trump will find a quick way to end the war he began alongside Israel nearly two weeks ago.
But so far there has been no let-up on the ground, or any sign that ships can safely sail through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil has been blockaded behind a narrow channel along the Iranian coast in the worst disruption to energy supplies since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
“Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security which you have destabilised,” EbrahimZolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s military command, said in comments addressed to the United States.
After offices of a bank in Tehran were hit overnight, Zolfaqari also said Iran would respond with attacks on banks that do business with the United States or Israel.
People across the Middle East should stay 1,000 metres from banks, he added.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters Israeli leaders now privately accepted that Iran’s ruling system could survive the war.
Two other Israeli officials said there was no sign Washington was close to ending the campaign.
Israel also launched a barrage on Beirut aimed at rooting out the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which has fired into Israel from Lebanon in solidarity with Tehran.
More than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since the US and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir SaeidIravani.
Scores have also been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Iranian strikes on Israel have killed at least 11 people and two Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon.
Washington says seven US soldiers have been killed and around 140 have been wounded. Monitoring Desk
