Crude oil climbed toward $91 per barrel on Wednesday, advancing for a third straight session to its highest level in nearly six weeks, as escalating hostilities between the US and Iran intensified concerns over potential disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies. The US military carried out new strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, which President Donald Trump described as retaliation for Tehran’s attempts to lay mines in the waterway and for an earlier attack on a US military base. Trump also warned of a significantly more forceful response if Iran chose to retaliate. Tehran, for its part, said it had already responded by targeting US bases in the region and firing missiles toward Jordan. Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s bankruptcy was in its “acceleration phase,” while noting that 17 million barrels of crude passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, indicating that Tehran does not control the strategic chokepoint.