Oil tankers and cargo vessels remain anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos on June 21, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.
Elke Scholiers | Getty Images
Oil prices rose Friday as investors weighed escalating tensions between the United States and Iran after Tehran vowed to target regional infrastructure if President Donald Trump followed through on threats to strike the country’s key facilities.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August delivery rose 1.32% to $80.09 per barrel. September futures for international benchmark Brent advanced 1.33% to $85.35 per barrel.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said U.S. forces would target Iran’s infrastructure next week unless the two sides reached a diplomatic breakthrough.
Responding in a statement posted on Telegram on Thursday, a spokesperson for Iran’s top military command warned that if Trump’s threats were carried out, “everything that is still intact … that is, all the infrastructure in the region – will be crushed.”
Jorge León, senior vice president at Rystad Energy, wrote in a note on Friday that a limited agreement between Washington and Tehran remained the firm’s base case scenario, though confidence in that outcome had weakened.
He added that both sides still had strong economic incentives to avoid a complete breakdown in talks, with the U.S. seeking lower oil prices ahead of the November midterm elections and Iran reluctant to forgo economic incentives.
“Tehran has a substantial economic package on the table, including access to frozen assets and export waivers, that it does not want to walk away from permanently,” León said.
