Oil prices waver in face of Iran war truce and Houthi attacks
Oil prices eased slightly on Friday after surging to more than $108 per barrel in the previous session, as investors weighed the possibility of a truce between the US and Iran against the bombings of Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels that renewed fears of supply disruptions from Opec 's biggest producer. Brent, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, was down 1.2 per cent to $105.3 a barrel…
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to meet urgently to discuss support for the kingdom following attacks by the Houthis from Yemen. Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti has urged troops to be prepared to sacrifice their lives in the fight. The Houthis have launched missile and drone strikes against Saudi targets, disrupting oil flows from the world's largest energy exporter.
In response, Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts for key cities including Mecca, Jeddah and the main Red Sea oil port of Yanbu. The Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani foreign ministers met under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement to condemn the attacks and discuss measures to aid Saudi Arabia. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian tried to distance Iran from the Houthis in an American TV interview.
Tehran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting sanctions if its conditions are met, including ending hostilities in Lebanon. Oil prices dropped as markets evaluated the potential of a truce, but the number of ships passing through the Hormuz strait fell to nine, down from the 10-day average. The conflict, initiated by the US and Israel in February, has claimed thousands of lives and impacted global energy supplies.
While direct combat between the US and Iran has reduced, Iranian allies continue to be involved, with the Houthis advancing in Yemen with direct guidance from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan to hold urgent chiefs-of-staff meeting after Houthi attacks jpost.com
- Oil prices waver in face of Iran war truce and Houthi attacks thenationalnews.com
- Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi missiles; group claims strikes on Riyadh, Aramco timesofisrael.com
- Repeated Houthi attacks on Mecca show disregard for holy sites: military expert english.ajel.sa
