Oil facilities across Middle East close as Iran drops bombs throughout the region: File Image/Pixabay

A shutdown across the Middle East of oil facilities amid U.S./Israel military strikes on Iran and retaliation by Tehran caused another massive hike in crude prices on Monday, with investors worrying that disruptions will intensify.

This, combined with fears that, despite U.S. president Donald Trump's intentions, this could be the beginning of another “forever” war, caused Brent to settle up $4.87, or 6.6 percent, at $77.74 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate settled up $4.21, or 6.2 percent, at $71.23 per barrel.

The Los Angeles Times noted that Monday’s gains will “probably mean higher prices soon at gasoline pumps: that would hurt not only U.S. households, whose spending makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy, but also businesses with big fuel bills.”

In terms of potential disruptions, Kevin Book, managing director at Clearview Energy Partners, told media with regard to the Middle East, “Infrastructure is at risk throughout the region, and it’s not just at risk because of deliberate attacks, but also inadvertent attacks.

“Shrapnel and debris from missile interceptions can fall onto facilities and disable them too, and so there are a number of challenges that come from this kind of conflict in an area with so much energy production.”

Oman reported that a bomb-carrying drone boat struck a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing one mariner.

In Saudi Arabia, the Ras Tanura oil refinery near Dammam was shut down after the Kingdom intercepted an Iranian drone attack against the facility.

In the Strait of Hormuz, tanker traffic dropped sharply as Iran disrupted satellite navigation systems; also, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center reported attacks on several vessels on either side of the strait.

However, while much worry since Washington launched its campaign against Iran’s Islamic regime has focused on the strait, Book said blocking the throughway would hurt Iran too since all of its 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of output goes through it to China.

He added, “If the president [Trump] succeeds in ‘annihilating,’ in his words, the Iranian Navy, then long-term prospects of closure should decline, and that should increase the likelihood that ships will start sailing again.”

Meanwhile, the outbreak of war continued to spur predictions of where oil prices were headed in the near term, the latest coming from Bernstein and Macquarie Group Perspective, which raised its 2026 Brent oil price assumption from $65 to $80 per barrel, but sees prices reaching $120-$150 in an extreme case of prolonged conflict.