A timeline of how the Iran war shook oil prices — and what comes next in Oil & Companies News 23/04/2026 Oil markets have lurched from panic to relief and back again since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, with markets bracing for further volatility. Prices surged more than 55% since the start of the war, with Brent crude jumping from around $72 a barrel on February 27 to nearly $120 at its peak, as fears mounted over supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude jumped 51% in March, one of the largest one‑month oil price surges on record. Headlines about the war led to oil notching its biggest daily gain since the Russia-Ukraine war, while others sent Brent crude to its biggest daily drop in decades. Here are some of the key moments that oil reacted to since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, and where it might go next. February 28 The war began with joint US-Israel strikes against Iran on February 28, a Saturday when oil wasn’t trading. The strikes killed several key Iranian officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s longtime supreme leader. Iran responded quickly, hitting infrastructure across Gulf capitals and throwing the region, and millions of barrels of oil, into chaos. March 2 Oil and gas prices jumped during the first trading day since the strikes, as the war halts energy exports from the Middle East. Tehran began attacking ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and grinding energy production to a halt from Qatar to Iraq. March 8 The war entered its second week as Iranian oil facilities were hit for the first time. When markets opened on Monday March 9, Brent surged near $120 a barrel, which U.S. President Donald Trump said was a “small price to pay” for defeating Iran. Energy exports in the Gulf remained under pressure as the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait cut output, run out of storage. Markets also reacted to the news that Iran named a new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Khamenei. He is seen as more hardline, with very close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. March 18 After Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field, Tehran retaliated by striking at Ras Laffan, a major energy facility in Qatar, marking a sharp escalation that sent energy prices surging. South Pars, the world’s largest known natural gas reserve at about 1,800 trillion cubic feet, is also a cornerstone of Iran’s energy supply. March 23 A brief risk off saw Brent dip below $100 per barrel. Trump said that the U.S. and Iran were discussing an end to the war, which marked the first time the warring sides were in touch. The Iranians threw cold water on this, but these initial discussions reportedly paved the way for a ceasefire just weeks later. March 28 Yemen’s Houthis said they had launched missiles at Israel, marking their first direct involvement in the U.S.- Israel war against Iran. April 7 Trump said he agreed to suspend planned attacks on Iranian infrastructure for two weeks, backing off his shocking threats to imminently order the destruction of Iran’s “whole civilization.” ‘’A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.’’ President Donald Trump on Truth Social on April 7 April 13 Crude oil prices jumped as the U.S. Navy imposed a blockade on Iran’s ports after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end the war during negotiations in Pakist