Dubai. The U.S. has issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian petroleum products currently at sea, hoping to ease oil and gas prices driven up by the war the U.S. and Israel are waging on Iran.
However, the waiver appeared to have little effect, with benchmark Brent crude back up to $101 by 1000 GMT on Friday, with Asian shares also under pressure.
As the conflict approached its third week, Iran fired another barrage of missiles and drones at Israel on Friday.
The Israeli military said it had launched strikes across Tehran and continued to carry out strikes on the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militia across Lebanon, including on the capital Beirut, as Iranian media reported rallies for Quds (Jerusalem) Day beginning across Iran in support of the Palestinians.
The sounds of explosions and fighter jets were heard in the Iranian capital and in Karaj to the west of Tehran, Iranian media said.
U.S. seeks to tame oil price surge
The prospect that such a severe jolt to global energy supplies could endure boosted oil prices about 9% to $100 a barrel on Thursday, up almost 40 percent since the start of the war, helping drive down U.S. stocks.
Prices have been whipsawing on U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about the likely duration of the war, which has prompted Iran to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil.
In a bid to stabilise prices, the U.S. on Thursday issued a 30-day licence for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently at sea - where it is not uncommon for consignments to be sold or change their buyer.
"The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long term," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The 32-nation International Energy Agency said on Thursday that the war was creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history. Average U.S. retail gasoline prices hit $3.60 a gallon on Thursday for the first time since May 2024, while diesel prices hit $4.89 a gallon, the highest since December 2022, data from the motorist association AAA showed.
Trump, who has already declared that the U.S. and Israel have won the war, said the U.S. stood to make significant money from higher oil prices. He has also promised, without offering specifics, to guarantee the safety of shipping in the Strait.
Trump says rise in oil price will 'make a lot of money'
"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money," he said on social media, adding that the priority was to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
The news outlet Axios cited three officials from the Western Group of Seven powers as saying Trump had told G7 leaders in a virtual meeting on Wednesday that Iran was "about to surrender".
The Israeli military said on Friday its air force had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air defence systems and weapons production sites.
The war, which began on February 28, has sparked a regional conflict, killing more than 2,000 people and plunging the entire Middle East into turmoil.
In a post on social media, Trump said the U.S. was "totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran".
"We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time - Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today," Trump said.
"They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!"
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first comments on Thursday, vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and urged neighbouring countries to close U.S. bases on their territory or risk being attacked themselves.
U.S., Israel and Iran leaders all issue threats
"I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs," said the hardline cleric, who replaced his father after he was killed in Israel's initial strikes.
Khamenei's comments were read out by a television presenter and it was not clear why he had not appeared in person. Iranian officials have said he is lightly wounded; Trump has said he thinks Khamenei is alive but "damaged".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also held his first press conference since the war began, issuing a veiled threat to kill the new supreme leader.
"I will not detail the actions we are taking. We are creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime but I won't deny that I can't tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will topple the regime - a regime is toppled from the inside," Netanyahu said on Thursday.
"But we can definitely help and we are helping."
In Iraq, U.S. Central Command said one of its refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, killing four of six crew members aboard, and rescue efforts were under way. It said the incident involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, said it had downed the aircraft.
President Emmanuel Macron said one French soldier had been killed and several wounded during an attack in northern Iraq, hours after an Italian base in the same area was attacked.
The French soldiers were providing training as part of an international coalition fighting Islamic State militants.
Several homes in a Bedouin Arab town near an air base in northern Israel were heavily damaged overnight.
It was not immediately clear whether the damage had been caused by a direct strike or by debris from an interception. Israel's ambulance service said 58 people had injuries, mostly minor.
