New Delhi, March 11 -- Iran has cautioned that global oil prices could reach $200 per barrel following a series of assaults by its forces on merchant vessels in the blockaded Persian Gulf this Wednesday. Simultaneously, Tehran launched missile strikes at Israel and various regional targets, aiming to prove its military resilience despite what the Pentagon characterises as unprecedentedly intense US-Israeli aerial campaigns.

"Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilised," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's military command, said in comments addressed to the United States.

While oil valuations spiked earlier this week, they have since moderated as stock mark...