Oil Resumes Climb As West Asia Conflict Escalates

(RTTNews) - Oil prices resumed their rise on Tuesday amid fears over constrained supply.

Benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 3.3 percent to $103.48 a barrel while WTI crude futures were up 3.8 percent at $95.95.

Iran has launched a series of attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), targeting Dubai's international airport and the Fujairah oil port, marking a sharp escalation in the ongoing conflict and adding to investor anxiety over energy disruptions.

A drone attack has sparked a fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but reports suggest that there were no casualties. The energy facility is located about 150km (93 miles) east of Dubai.

Loud explosions and air defense interceptions were reported across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar today as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran entered day 18.

The Israeli military said it had begun a "wide-scale wave of strikes" across Iran's capital and was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, several U.S. allies, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia and Japan have declined President Donald Trump's request to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for a fifth of global energy shipments. The U.K. and France said they are willing to discuss options.

Trump claimed Iran's retaliatory strikes on Gulf nations were unexpected and that he does not believe Israel would use a nuclear weapon in its war with Iran.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a weekly briefing that Tehran had shown it was ready to take the war with Israel and the United States as far as necessary.