Oil Prices Soar Past $100 a Barrel Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions

The price of oil surged past $100 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest level in more than six weeks, after US military strikes destroyed five Iranian tankers and Houthi attacks set oil facilities ablaze in Saudi Arabia.

The US Central Command said the strikes followed attempted Iranian missile attacks on a Navy warship. The vessels were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional proxies, according to military officials.

Saudi Aramco oil refinery in Saudi Arabia was also affected by Houthi attacks. 'In many ways, agents and proxies of the Iranians,' is how Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Houthis, adding that 'behind some of this is clearly the Iranian hand.'