Oil Prices Skyrocket Past $100 Amid Tensions with Iran
The price of oil surged past $100 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest level in more than six weeks. This spike comes after U.S. military strikes destroyed five Iranian tankers and Houthi attacks set oil facilities ablaze in Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. Central Command said the strikes followed attempted Iranian missile attacks on a Navy warship. The vessels targeted were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional proxies, according to military officials.
Saudi Arabia has been at odds with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which have been carrying out attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the Houthis are 'in many ways, agents and proxies of the Iranians,' and that 'behind some of this is clearly the Iranian hand.'