US-Iran Conflict Escalates, Tankers Attacked in Gulf Waters

A series of attacks on tankers in Gulf waters has escalated as the US-Iran conflict continues to spread. On Thursday, an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives targeted a Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker anchored near Iraq's Khor al Zubair port. Another tanker at anchor off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side.

This marks the ninth vessel attacked since the conflict broke out between the US, Israel, and Iran on Saturday. Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday and sent drones into Azerbaijan, injuring four people. The escalation comes as a motion to halt US attacks was blocked in Washington, and the son of Iran's slain supreme leader emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him.

Oil prices have surged due to the disruptions, with Brent climbing 3% and WTI rising 4%. They've both jumped 16% since the war started on Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country could halt gas supplies to Europe right now amid the spike in energy prices from the Iran crisis.

Qatar has halted gas production due to the conflict, and other major producers have little spare capacity to offset this lost supply. The EU's task of refilling its gas storage in the coming months has become riskier and more expensive due to the Iran conflict and disrupted LNG supplies.