LONDON - The US assassination of one of Iran's most powerful generals has the oil industry bracing for something it has long feared and anticipated - direct military confrontation between the two adversaries.
An escalation into direct fighting between US and Iranian forces in the world's most important oil-producing region would have longer lasting consequences for the global economy. One official told the state broadcaster that some 36 US military bases and facilities are within reach of Iran's defence forces, with the closest being in Bahrain.
It's immediate neighbours in the region - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran - together produce about 15 million barrels a day. Most of their exports leave the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that Iran has repeatedly threatened to shut down if there's a war. Two commodity-trading houses called emergency meetings of senior staff on Friday to assess the new risks to the oil market, said people familiar with the matter.
Iraq's oil fields are working normally, the country's Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban told Bloomberg by phone on Friday. Four US citizens working at an Exxon Mobil Corp.-operated project have been asked to leave, he said.
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