Oil price stable while US set to send more troops to Middle East

• ‘Aircraft-carrier group to be sent’
• Iran remains committed to diplomacy
• Houthis target Saudi with missiles

The US will send more troops and aircraft carriers to the Middle East as the war with Iran shows little sign of ending.

The reinforcements indicate the conflict could drag on, despite Qatar’s diplomatic efforts.

Washington will deploy a third aircraft-carrier strike group and an additional Marine expeditionary unit to the region by the end of November, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The paper said at least 10,000 troops would be sent, with the forces expected to resume bombing Iran that month.

Oil prices fell on Friday morning despite the rising tensions. Brent crude futures slipped 0.11 percent to $102.2 per barrel at 03:00 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures shed 0.28 percent to $92.61.

Trump said in a social media post on Friday that he would need four to six weeks to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme.

“I stated, numerous times, that it would take 4-6 weeks to get rid of the Iran nuclear threat, and I did it in one night! The rest of the time is just to make sure it stays that way,” the post said.

A senior Iranian government official said Tehran remained committed to resolving issues diplomatically despite US breaches of commitments and acts of betrayal, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Iran has yet to disclose details of the US response to its seven-day plan to pave the way for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Friday that a tanker had been struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the strait, causing a fire. The incident followed attacks on three tankers on Wednesday.

Further reading:

• Saudi economy forecast to shrink and deficit to widen
• Saudi Arabia planning Oman pipeline, says Total CEO
• How Gulf oil is being shuttled through Hormuz

Both Washington and Tehran claim control over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that handled almost one-fifth of global commodity trade before the war began in late February.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Houthi militia continue to target Saudi Arabia. Riyadh said it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at Khamis Mushait and Jazan, as well as four unmanned aerial vehicles targeting Khamis Mushait. The missiles and UAVs were launched on Thursday, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The US-Iran peace deadlock weighed on most Gulf bourses on Thursday, with Abu Dhabi posting the steepest decline at 0.7 percent. Saudi and Dubai stock markets closed 0.5 percent lower, while Qatar and Kuwait fell 0.6 percent. Bahrain’s benchmark index declined 0.2 percent, while Oman rose 0.4 percent.