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President Joe Biden said the US was discussing the possibility of Israel striking Iran's oil industry
The price of crude oil shot up 5 per cent on Thursday after President Joe Biden said the US was discussing the possibility of Israel striking Iran's oil industry, in response to Tehran firing missiles at Israel on Tuesday.
Iran is the seventh largest oil producer in the world, exporting around half its production abroad, mainly to China.
Since Iran's missile barrage on Israel, crude oil prices are up 10 per cent to $77 per barrel for the key Brent crude.
Concerns are being raised as to whether any escalation could block the Straits of Hormuz, through which a third of oil tanker traffic and a fifth of LNG frozen gas has to pass.
Meanwhile, fresh explosions are being heard in Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut, as Israel says it has struck the group's intelligence headquarters.
Overnight Israeli air strikes on central Beirut killed nine people and 24 health care workers.
In a Telegram message, the Israeli military has urged citizens not to return home until further notice.
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