Brent Crude prices briefly hit $90 per barrel in Asian trade on Monday as the Middle East conflict continued to escalate with fresh U.S. strikes on Iran and Tehran targeting American bases in the region and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.Both Brent Crude and the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, were up by 2% in early Asian trade, although prices did then fall back as the session continued.The most recent rally extended last week’s jump as U.S. forces launched a new wave of strikes against Iran at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday for the ninth consecutive night. “The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. Central Command said.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Monday they had targeted U.S. aircraft at the Aqaba airport in Jordan with ballistic missiles, and U.S. military assets and equipment at Kuwait's Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, and in Syria.The Revolutionary Guards also said two oil tankers exploded and were immobilized after attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via the southern lane close to Oman, which Iran says is unsafe. Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, said the United States would continue its strikes on Iran until Tehran continues to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.“The Straits of Hormuz are international waterways, and they continue to launch against ships in that international waterway,” Rubio said late on Sunday.“As long as Iran insists on controlling an international waterway, we're going to have to respond to that. The United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution,” the U.S. official said.The re-escalation has pushed vessel owners and operators to pause attempts to transit the Strait of Hormuz, traffic through which has crumbled in the past week. Transits are at a standstill, rekindling concerns about global oil supply at peak demand season.At the time of writing, Brent had dropped back to $88.64 while WTI was trading at $82.67. U.S. Central Command confirmed that it had completed what it described as a “weekend wave of strikes”, suggesting the escalation was coming to an end.It isn’t the first time in recent weeks that escalations over the weekend have driven prices higher in early Asian trading on a Monday before falling back as U.S. trading begins.By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comChina Seeks Long-Term LNG Deals Beyond the Strait of HormuzIndia Hikes Diesel and Jet Fuel Export TaxBrent Futures Flip to Backwardation as Middle East Supply Risks Return