Oil prices spike after Biden says he's 'discussing' Israeli strikes on Iran

Oil prices have reportedly skyrocketed after President Biden discussed aiding possible strikes on Iranian oil facilities.

Asked by a reporter if he supported blowing up Iran's oil facilities, the US leader replied "we're discussing that" - a comment which has reportedly caused oil prices to jump five percent as concerns over an all out war in the Middle East grow.

Iran is the seventh largest oil producer in the and exports roughly a half of its production abroad, mainly to . Crude oil prices are believed to have gone up by 10%, amounting to £59 per barrel.

On Wednesday, Biden said he would not support Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. The president said he wasn't expecting any immediate action from Israel, despite an Isreali airstrike tearing through a building in the heart of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, this afternoon - which Israel's Defence Forces claim was a Hezbollah HQ.

The IDF have claimed they "struck targets belonging to Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut, including terror operatives belonging to the unit, intelligence-gathering means, command centres and additional terrorist infrastructure".

On Monday night, Iran launched almost 200 missiles at Israel in reprisal for its invasion of Lebanon. Prime Minister then sent a chilling warning to Iran, saying it "made a big mistake" in attacking Israel with missiles and "will pay for it".

When asked if he would allow Israel to retaliate against Iran, Biden said: "First of all, we don't 'allow' Israel, we advise Israel. And there is nothing going to happen today."

US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea reportedly "took down multiple missiles" launched by Iran into Isreal on Monday night. In a televised statement by the White House, a spokesperson said the US military worked "closely" with the IDF to "help defend Israel against this attack".

It said: "US naval destroyers joined Israeli air defence units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles." President Biden and Vice President Harris reportedly monitored the attack and response from the White House situation room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team.

The White House said: "We are still working with the IDF and the authorities in Israel to assess the impact of the attack. At this time, we do not know of any deaths in Isreal. We are tracking the reported death of a Palestinian civilian in Jericho in the West Bank. We do not know of any damage to strategic military assets in Israel."