Oil rises over $1 as Iran crisis disrupts Middle East supply

Oil prices rose more than $1 on Wednesday as the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East output and halted exports from the region. Brent rose $1.11, or 1.4%, ​to $82.53 a barrel, after closing at its highest since January 2025 on ‌Tuesday. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 79 cents, or 1.1%, to $75.37, after settling at its highest since June. Israeli and US forces struck targets across Iran on Tuesday, prompting Iranian strikes against energy ​infrastructure in a region that accounts for just under a third of global ​oil production. Iraq, the second-largest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum ⁠Exporting Countries, has cut output by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, about half ​its production, due to storage limits and the lack of an export route, officials told ​Reuters. They said the country may have to shut its nearly 3 million bpd of output within days if exports do not resume. Iran has also targeted tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through ​which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Traffic ​remained effectively closed for a fourth day after Iran attacked five ships.