Brent oil price jumps 3% after Iran vows to retaliate for U.S. strikes

Brent crude oil prices rose Tuesday as U.S. strikes in southern Iran and President Donald Trump’s mixed messaging on the negotiations between Tehran and Washington kept traders on edge.

International benchmark Brent crude futures gained 3% to $99.10 a barrel by 8:34 a.m. ET compared to its Monday close.

West Texas Intermediate futures, which did not close yesterday due to the Memorial Day holiday, fell nearly 4% to $92.86 per barrel compared with its Friday settlement.

WTI bounced back Tuesday from its session lows in the wake of the U.S. strikes. Brent and WTI are both lower compared to their Friday settlements, after Trump indicated over the weekend that a deal with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz was imminent.

But a deal has not been announced and tensions are escalating again. The U.S. military said it “conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran” early Tuesday, targeting vessels allegedly trying to deploy mines, as well as missile launch locations. The U.S. Central Command said the actions were intended “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday said it would retaliate against violations of the ongoing ceasefire after it identified and engaged U.S. drones and an F-35 jet fighter that entered the country’s airspace.

The Islamic Republic’s semi-official Tasnim news agency separately described recent talks with the U.S. as “overall good,” citing an informed source, but said a memorandum of understanding with Washington would be dependent on the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

Complicating peace talks further, Trump said in a social media post Monday that he had encouraged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords aimed at normalizing Arab nations’ ties with Israel.