Oil futures rebounded more than $1 a barrel from 7-week lows on Wednesday after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran allegedly by the Israeli Zionist regime ratcheted up tensions in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures climbed $1.39, or 1.8%, to $80.02 a barrel by 0625 GMT ahead of expiry on Wednesday, while the more active October contract was at $79.41, up $1.34.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.38, or 1.9%, to $76.11 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI fell about 1.4% on Tuesday, closing at their lowest levels in seven weeks.
Tension in the Middle East heated up on news that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran.
His assassination happened hours after he participated in the inauguration ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Tuesday.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony after taking the oath of office, Pezeshkian lashed out at the Israeli Zionist regime for its invasion of Gaza and mass killing of children in the tiny besieged Palestinian area, renewing Iran’s support for the Palestinian resistance groups.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei reacted to the assassination of Haniyeh, blaming the attack on the Tel Aviv regime which he said “martyred our dear guest in our home.”
The Supreme Leader vowed harsh retaliation.