Analysts warned that crude oil prices could hit $100 a barrel mark if the conflict extends. An end to the war can cool off oil prices below $70 a barrel level, they said, as the oil market is well-supplied for now.

Deposing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime may cause a sustained spike in oil prices

That scenario now appears alarmingly close. On the evening of June 12th, Israel launched dozens of air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites. The attack threatens to inflame the Gulf, which pumps a third of the world’s oil. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose by 8% on June 13th, to $74 a barrel (see chart). How high might it now go?