Oil Prices Surge Above $100 as Markets React to Iran Leadership Shift
The U.S. oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), jumped 20 percent to $109.17 per barrel, reaching its highest level since February 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Global oil prices surged sharply as trading opened on Sunday, with investors bracing for further geopolitical turmoil following Iran’s appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader.
The U.S. oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), jumped 20 percent to $109.17 per barrel, reaching its highest level since February 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the international Brent crude benchmark rose 19 percent to $110.35 per barrel, reflecting heightened concerns over instability in the Middle East and potential disruptions to global energy supplies.
Market analysts say the sharp increase underscores investors’ fears that escalating tensions in the region could affect oil production or transportation routes.
U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the spike in oil prices, calling it a temporary consequence of efforts to eliminate the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The surge in oil prices comes amid heightened uncertainty following the killing of Iran’s longtime leader and the swift appointment of his son as successor, developments that have intensified tensions across the region and rattled global markets.