Crude oil futures surged by more than 9 per cent on Friday morning after Israel launched strikes against Iran.

At 9.56 am on Friday, August Brent oil futures were at $76.19, up by 9.85 per cent, and July crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $75.22, up by 10.55 per cent. June crude oil futures were trading at ₹6422 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹5844, up by 9.89 per cent, and July futures were trading at ₹6274 against the previous close of ₹5733, up by 9.44 per cent.

A video message posted on the X account of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, Iran’s ballistic missile programme, and its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, he said, adding that the operation would continue for days.

“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme. We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponisation programme. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic-missile programme,” he said.

A few days ago, US President Donald Trump had threatened Iran with bombing if it does not reach a new nuclear deal with it.

On Friday’s attack on Iran by Israeli forces, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel acted unilaterally because it believed the operation was necessary for self-defence.

A statement by Rubio said: “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”

Reports suggested that Iran could retaliate soon. The situation in West Asia region threatens to disrupt Strait of Hormuz, which is a key route for around 20 per cent of global oil flows, they added. Iran is one of the major producers of crude oil.

June natural gas futures were trading at ₹306.50 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹299.10, up by 2.47 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), June jeera contracts were trading at ₹19605 in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹19,705, down by 0.51 per cent.

June guargum futures were trading at ₹9,440 on NCDEX in the initial hour of Friday, down by 0.14 per cent from the previous close of ₹9453.

Published on June 13, 2025