Another mutual attack between the US and Iran intensifies the conflict, Brent crude oil rose more than 2% and returned to 99 dollars

The Zhitong Finance App learned that oil prices rose in US stock after-market trading on Tuesday due to reports that Iran launched a second wave of previously undisclosed attacks on US Navy ships this week. The international benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose about 2% to $99.05 a barrel, before closing at $97.92; US WTI crude futures rose 2.8% to $94.04 a barrel, before closing at $93.03.

On September 8 (Tuesday), local time, the US Central Command issued a document stating that US military forces destroyed 5 Iranian crude oil carriers on the same day. Two days earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) attacked a US Navy warship twice using ballistic missiles. The US Central Command said that US warships successfully evaded attacks from Iran and continued to carry out patrol missions in the region's waters. There were no US casualties as a result of the attack.

On the evening of the 8th local time, Iranian sources said that an Iranian oil tanker was attacked by a US military missile at a distance of 4 miles from Khark Island. Local sources said there were no injuries in the incident and the tanker crew was being evacuated.

Oil prices rose more than 8% in September due to the first military conflict between the US and Iran since July. This week's fighting further expanded. Yemeni militants allied with Iran attacked various energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, forcing the temporary suspension of some operations.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Houthis attacked economic facilities in cities such as Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran, injuring more than 70 civilians. The Saudi Ministry of Energy said in a statement that the attack caused fires at several energy facilities, causing some facilities to temporarily shut down. The world's largest oil exporter added that emergency services are working to control the fire and assess the extent of the damage.

Saudi Arabia did not disclose what kind of energy facility was attacked. According to official Houthi media, the group attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in southern Saudi Arabia with drones and ballistic missiles.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “Saudi Arabia reaffirms its right to take all necessary measures to defend national sovereignty, protect national assets, and ensure the safety of citizens and residents.”

Earlier, the US military attacked three Iranian oil tankers last Saturday in retaliation for Iran attacking two naval warships with ballistic missiles. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Saturday denouncing the attack on the tanker as a “war crime” and an act of “economic war.”

“Attack our assets, and you too will be counterattacked,” Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in an X post on Monday. This was in response to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's social media post. In the post, Hegseth said that if Iran fires on an American ship, the US “will destroy (and sink)” an Iranian tanker.

Goldman Sachs warns: the situation in the Middle East may push up oil prices to $120

Goldman Sachs on Monday raised the price forecasts for Brent crude oil and WTI crude oil in December 2026 by 5 US dollars to 85 US dollars and 80 US dollars per barrel, respectively, and 80 US dollars and 75 US dollars in 2027, respectively. Goldman Sachs warned that if crude oil production in the Gulf region is still 4 million b/d below pre-war levels, Brent oil prices may soar to more than $120 per barrel in 2027, but this is not the bank's baseline forecast.

Goldman Sachs Petroleum Research Director Daan Struven said in a report on Monday: “We believe that more frequent shipping attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea region are most likely to cause this situation of falling production and rising prices.”

Goldman Sachs expects Middle East shipping disruptions to continue until 2027, and production will gradually resume in the second half of next year. “The market is increasingly pricing the protracted Middle East conflict,” Struven said.

US President Donald Trump posted on social media platforms on Monday: “When we win the war with Iran, oil prices will fall like a cliff, just like everything else is falling (but more!). The price of oil will first drop to $3 per gallon and eventually fall below $2. This will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have nuclear weapons.”