Oil prices surged again on Tuesday following fresh Iranian attacks on crude-producing neighbours, targeting vital energy infrastructure and raising serious fears of widespread global supply disruptions.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose 2.0 per cent to $102.16 per barrel. The main US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, gained 1.7 per cent to $95.08 per barrel.

A drone strike on Tuesday struck the Fujairah oil complex in the United Arab Emirates. This facility, located on the Gulf of Oman, allows the UAE to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for certain exports. The attack caused a fire at the important Emirati oil port, although officials confirmed there were no injuries.

Two drones also targeted a major oil field in southern Iraq. An oil ministry spokesperson told AFP that this marked the second such attack in four days.

Meanwhile, Israel announced it had killed Iran’s national security chief. This came as part of a “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran, accompanied by attacks on Hezbollah in Beirut.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB, noted that concerns are “shifting from a shipping crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to an oil supply crisis, where energy infrastructure across the Gulf is a target”.

In a televised interview Tuesday, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that “the Strait of Hormuz cannot be the same as before and return to its previous conditions,” adding that “there is no longer any security”.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said, “The longer the oil price stays above $100 per barrel, the louder the alarm bells for the market over inflation risks”.

Despite escalating geopolitical tensions, stock markets mostly rose as investors considered other favorable developments. US chip giant Nvidia projected at least $1 trillion in revenue through the end of 2027. Several airlines also posted better-than-expected first-quarter revenue.

The three major US indices opened higher. Most leading European stock exchanges were also in positive territory during mid-afternoon trading. Shares in Delta Airlines and American Airlines climbed nearly five percent.

US President Donald Trump urged allies in Europe and other regions to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He stated over the weekend that securing the waterway “should have always been a team effort, and now it will be”.

Responses from allies have been tepid. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared the war, initiated by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, was “not a matter for NATO”. Britain, Spain, Poland, Greece, and Sweden all distanced themselves from the appeals.

The European Union opted against expanding its naval operations in the Middle East after a meeting of foreign ministers. “Europe has no interest in an open-ended war,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, told journalists in Brussels.

The International Energy Agency stated that its member countries can release additional emergency oil stocks if required. This is in addition to the 400 million barrels set to enter global markets this week. However, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol cautioned that while stock releases can provide a buffer, “the single most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is a resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz”.