Iran and Israel trade strikes on energy facilities — Bloomberg

Iran and Israel traded strikes on key energy facilities in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The strike followed a warning from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hours earlier that a number of energy sites in Gulf countries would be considered “legitimate targets” after Israel attacked a key gas field in Iran.

The IRGC said that Iran has entered a new phase targeting energy infrastructure and claims retaliatory strikes hit facilities tied to US interests.

Meanwhile, energy infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been directly drawn into escalating regional tensions, after authorities intercepted missiles targeting key energy infrastructure. UAE Foreign Ministry called attack by Iran on its gas facilities and oil field a dangerous escalation and breach of international law. 

US President Donald Trump said that he wants no more strikes on Iranian energy sites after Israel’s Wednesday attack on a vital Iranian gas field. However, he could once again be open to targeting more Iranian energy facilities depending on Tehran’ future actions in strategic waterways.

Market reaction

At the time of writing, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is down 0.73% on the day at $97.85.