Oil Jumps as US Strikes Iranian Bridges Near Strait of Hormuz

Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping after the U.S. and Israel launched operations against Iran on Feb. 28. The move sent oil prices soaring and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, earlier threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on all infrastructure in the region if the U.S. acted on Trump's warnings about hitting bridges and power plants. "Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extraregional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz," he said. "This is Iran's invincible red line."

Brent crude rose more than 3% in early trading on the escalation, with traders pricing in a prolonged disruption to tanker traffic through the strait.