Oil prices surged early in Wednesday trading after U.S. military forces reported new strikes on Iran and the restoration of sanctions on Iranian oil following attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Futures for West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 2.9%—to $72.45 per barrel as of 02:04 Moscow time. Brent has not started trading yet after closing on Tuesday up 5.5%—at $75.94 per barrel.

U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said it had begun a series of strikes on Iran aimed, as it put it, at inflicting “heavy losses” on Tehran for attacks on commercial shipping.

“U.S. strikes are a response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said in a statement, in which Iran is accused of violating the ceasefire regime.

The resumption of hostilities and signs of new shipping problems in Hormuz have once again rekindled concerns about disruptions to oil supplies from the Middle East.

The attacks also came shortly after the United States withdrew a key concession that had allowed Iran to sell oil on international markets — a move that could lead to tighter conditions in the oil market in the coming weeks.

According to available information, Iran attacked ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this week, intensifying tensions with the United States and creating new uncertainty about the status of this strategically important waterway.

Oil fell to pre-war lows in June after the United States and Iran reached a framework peace agreement, which also helped improve shipping traffic through Hormuz.

However, the latest round of confrontation threatens to undermine that deal, and prospects for future peace talks between the two countries now look very uncertain.

Renewed concerns about supplies from the Middle East have largely outweighed signs of increased production in other regions — despite the fact that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to increase output at a meeting over the weekend.

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