Middle East escalation triggers oil price surge
The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran Friday after Tehran-backed Houthi rebels attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea, marking an escalation that pushed crude prices past $100 a barrel.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned "the energy shock could intensify further" and push up inflation, feeding speculation about a September eurozone interest rate hike. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned of "dire consequences" for oil-importing economies and said "nothing, absolutely nothing, suggests that a ceasefire, let alone peace, could be reached". The war resumed this month after a ceasefire that had lasted just a few weeks, throwing the region back into chaos as Iran and the United States battled for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Yemen's Houthis joined the conflict this week, declaring a blockade of Saudi ports and claiming attacks on tankers. "The armed forces' retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country's infrastructure and coastal areas continue," Iran's army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said, according to state television. US allies Jordan and Kuwait reported intercepting strikes as Iran's military and Revolutionary Guards claimed to be targeting American assets in both countries. - Houthis step in -While Trump has returned to war and his fierce rhetoric, the conflict is proving increasingly unpopular at home. With midterm elections looming in November, the US House of Representatives passed a symbolic vote, backed by opposition Democrats and a handful of Republicans, calling for the president to halt the war. Kuwait, meanwhile, reported a drone attack against one of its border posts with Iraq, and said later that its air defences were "intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks following the wrongful Iranian aggression".