JALAA MAREY / Getty Images
Oil prices surged Monday after Iranian state media said Tehran would halt nuclear negotiations with the United States and close the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
By mid-morning, CNBC reported that WTI futures had gained 7.8% to reach $94.20 per barrel, while Brent crude — the international benchmark — was up 6.7% at $97.23. The moves came after Iran's state-affiliated Tasnim news agency said Iranian negotiators would not meet with U.S. officials until Israel stopped attacks in Gaza and Lebanon and pulled back from occupied Lebanese territory.
Tehran also threatened to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, in addition to the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNBC. The Strait of Hormuz handles around 20% of global oil traffic.
Fresh air strikes were exchanged by the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, with military targets near the Strait of Hormuz reportedly struck by both sides, according to CNBC. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately said his forces' capture of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon marked a turning point in the country's ground offensive against Hezbollah, according to CNBC.
