Iran tells world ‘get ready for $200 a barrel’

(Reuters)

DUBAI/TEL AVIV, March 11 – Iran’s military command said on Wednesday the world should be prepared for oil to hit $200 a barrel, as three more ships came under attack in the blockaded Gulf.

Iran fired at Israel and targets ​across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back and disrupt energy supplies despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense U.S.-Israeli strikes yet.

Oil prices that shot ‌up earlier this week have eased and stock markets have rebounded, with investors betting for now that U.S. President Donald Trump will find a quick way to end the war he began alongside Israel nearly two weeks ago.

But so far there has been no let-up on the ground, or any sign that ships can safely sail through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil has been blockaded behind a narrow channel along the Iranian coast in the worst disruption to energy supplies since the oil shocks of the 1970s.

“Get ready ​for oil be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security which you have destabilised,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s military command said in comments addressed to the United States.

After offices of a ​bank in Tehran were hit overnight, Zolfaqari also said Iran would respond with attacks on banks that do business with the United States or Israel. People across the Middle ⁠East should stay 1,000 metres from banks, he added.

A senior Israeli official told Reuters Israeli leaders now privately accept that Iran’s ruling system could survive the war. Two other Israeli officials said there was no sign Washington was close ​to ending the campaign.