Global oil prices rose and stocks tumbled dramatically in Asia on Monday, as the US-Israel confrontation with Iran reached its fifth week. Brent crude surged more than 3% overnight to above $115 (£86.77) per barrel. It later fell slightly to roughly $113, but still on course for its largest monthly increase on record.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi closed nearly 3% lower. It comes after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked Israel over the weekend, and Iran threatened to launch more retaliation strikes targeting universities and the residences of US and Israeli officials.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, US President Donald Trump stated that he could “take the oil in Iran” and possibly seize the country’s largest fuel center, Kharg Island. When asked about Iranian defense on the island, he replied, “I don’t believe they have any. We could handle it quite easily.
Trump linked the probable move to Venezuela, where the US intends to dominate the oil industry “indefinitely” following the January takeover of then-President Nicolas Maduro. Also over the weekend, Iran’s parliament speaker warned that his country’s forces were “waiting for American soldiers” as 3,500 more US troops arrived in the Middle East.
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