Oil prices surge on fears of escalation between US and Iran

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Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after the US Department of Defense insisted on members of the service in parts of the Middle East to leave the region amid fears of escalation between the United States and Iran.

Brent raw, international oil Marker jumped 5 percent of its level level on Tuesday to $ 70 a barrel in the afternoon trading in New York. The American standard in West Texas has gathered with a similar amount of its highest levels since April.

The rise in crude prices came hours after Donald Trump said it was now “less confident” in a nuclear agreement with Iran, despite talks between the two countries this year.

On Wednesday night, the US President confirmed the withdrawal of unnecessary individuals from the Middle East. “They were taken out because it is a dangerous place and we will see what is happening,” he told reporters.

“They cannot have a nuclear weapon, very simple,” the president added.

The United States has warned that it would consider military options to prevent Tehran from securing a nuclear weapon if diplomacy fails. Israel has also pushed a strike against Iran, believing that the Islamic Republic is the most vulnerable for decades and has an opportunity to attack.

IranThe Minister of Defense said on Wednesday that his country will target US military assets in the region in response to any “without hesitation” attack, in comments that shook energy markets.

“It is clear that the raw reaction with the news that comes out of the Middle East,” said one of the London -based oil mediators.

A 60 -day deadline of Trump was set for Iran to agree on the end of a new nuclear deal on Thursday. He said this week, there will be a sixth round of talks on Sunday, although this was not confirmed by the United States or Amman, which facilitates the talks.

The voluntary departure of American military transgressors was guessed from parts of the Middle East by Defense Minister Beit Higseth, according to an American defense official.

The official said: “The safety and security of our service personnel and their families are still the highest of our priority, and the US Central Command (Centcom) monitors developing tension in the Middle East.” Centcom is responsible for military operations throughout the region.

A Foreign Ministry official said that the United States chose to “reduce the imprint of our mission in Iraq,” noting that it “constantly residing in the position of the appropriate employees in all of our embassies.”

“It has been aware of the increase in tensions within the region, which may lead to an escalation of military activity with a direct impact on the sailors,” said the Royal Maritime Trade Office in Britain.

It was not clear what caused the United States to be frightened from the military healing to voluntarily leave the region. A UK government official said he was not following the US lead to his private forces in the region, but he was maintaining his position under review.

Jorge Montek, the administrative director of ONYX Capital, a liquidity of oil derivatives, said on Wednesday that “an exaggerated reaction shows that the market is short and anxious.” The “short” position is a bet that the oil will fall.

Trump administration in the middle Indirect talks with Iran In an attempt to secure an agreement to curb the wide nuclear program in Tehran and resolve a long confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

Iran has negatively responded to an American proposal to obtain a temporary agreement, as Trump pushes it to abandon the local enrichment program.

Tehran, who said it would make a fight to combat, insists that a red line, saying that he had the right to enrich uranium as a signature of the non -spread treaty.

Trump told the New York Post on Wednesday that he was “the lowest confidence in an agreement”, although he reiterated that he preferred an agreement over military action.

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasserzadeh told reporters on Wednesday that “if a conflict is imposed on us … all American bases are within our reach and we will target them without hesitation in the host countries.”

However, Western diplomats say Tehran is keen to avoid military conflict and wants negotiations to succeed so that it can secure sanctions to strengthen the besieged economy.

Hillima Koftt, a former CIA analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said that the departure of non -primary American employees from the region was raising geopolitical tensions.

“Although the complete evacuation matter, these decisions are not usually made incorrectly and usually involved a great review of intelligence,” Croft said. “This raises the ghost of the increasing threat environment in the region.”

Participated in additional reports from Jay Chazan in New York, Najem Bozorerger in Tehran and David Shepard in London