Oil Crosses $100 as Iran Vows Revenge for Israeli Strikes on Tehran Facilities

Crude oil prices crossed the $100 per barrel mark for the first time in years after Iranian officials vowed revenge for Israeli strikes on energy facilities in and around Tehran. The attacks, which killed four oil workers and shrouded the capital in smoke, represented a dramatic escalation in the ongoing conflict.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that Gulf states would face similar strikes if they failed to pressure Israel and the United States to halt their campaign. The threat was backed by action: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait all reported Iranian drone and missile attacks over the weekend, with Bahrain’s desalination infrastructure taking direct hits.
The United States found itself increasingly entangled in the conflict. A seventh American service member died from injuries sustained during an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, multiple US media organizations reported that Russia had been sharing targeting intelligence with Iran, a claim that, if true, would represent a major expansion of the conflict’s geopolitical dimensions.
Iran’s internal politics added another layer of complexity. The Assembly of Experts selected Mojtaba Khamenei — son of the late supreme leader — as the country’s new highest authority. The appointment was condemned internationally and described by critics as the emergence of a hereditary system within a state that had explicitly rejected such structures since its founding.
Despite attempts by the US energy secretary to calm markets — including a prediction that supply disruptions would last only a few weeks — oil traders remained anxious. Iran produces roughly four percent of global oil, with much of its output going to China, and any sustained disruption to that flow would have far-reaching consequences for prices worldwide.