Brent crude rose above $99 a barrel on Wednesday, reaching its highest level in nearly seven weeks and approaching the key $100 threshold after Iran said it had struck two American vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf. The escalation heightened concerns over further disruptions to global oil supplies. Tehran also launched ballistic missiles toward Jordan and warned vessels in the Persian Gulf, urging tanker crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to “immediately abandon their vessels.” The latest attacks followed US strikes on five Iranian tankers near Kharg Island, the Islamic Republic’s main oil export hub. Elsewhere, Iran-backed Houthi militants targeted energy infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery. Meanwhile, stronger Chinese oil demand is lifting prices for African, Canadian and Latin American crude as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz push refiners to seek alternative supplies from more distant markets.