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TOKYO: Oil prices climbed on Wednesday after two vessels were struck \u200cin the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian officials told Reuters they were deploying new tactics to target ships, as Tehran seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections.<\/strong><\/p>\n Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 0.6%, to $106.32 a barrel by 0345 GMT, while US West Texas \u200bIntermediate crude futures gained 66 cents, or 0.7%, to $94.80 a barrel. Both contracts rose more than $1 in earlier trade \u200bbefore paring some gains.<\/p>\n The Iranian officials declined to provide details of the new strategy, but one \u2060said that Iran had started using different offensive tactics against vessels it considered in violation of its restrictions about 10 \u200bdays ago, adding that this had led to an increase in attacks on such ships.<\/p>\n A container ship and a tanker were \u200bhit by unknown projectiles within the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that Iranian officials are openly admitting to undermining US efforts to keep oil prices under control speaks volumes about the real intentions behind the so-called \u2018peace talks,’\u201d said Priyanka Sachdeva, \u200bhead of market insights at Phillip Nova.<\/p>\n \u201cIran is well aware of its geographical importance and the havoc higher oil prices can \u200binflict on the global economy, and it may not shy away from using this leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere, the Iran-allied Houthis attacked an administrative building belonging to \u200cstate-owned oil \u2060firm Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab in the city of Dhahran, causing a limited fire, Saudi Arabia\u2019s energy ministry said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The group has fired ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia over the past week in retaliation for the kingdom\u2019s support of Yemeni government forces. Riyadh\u2019s international airport has been hit four times, with a strike on Saturday killing 13 people.<\/p>\n \u201cSupply concern stemming from conflict between \u200bthe Houthis and Saudi Arabia \u200bis driving prices higher,\u201d said \u2060Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the expectation that increased Russian diesel exports will ease market tightness is likely to limit sharp price movement \u200bin either direction,\u201d Kikukawa said, projecting WTI to trade between $90 and $100 a barrel.<\/p>\n Last month, Saudi \u200bArabia raised oil \u2060production despite disruptions to shipments caused by the US-Iran war. That led to a sharp production increase from OPEC+ \u2014 the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners including Russia \u2014 OPEC said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n In Russia, the government said on Tuesday it did not see any direct \u2060link between \u200bpeace talks with Ukraine and its deal to export diesel to the US.<\/p>\n The comment \u200bcame after Reuters reported that US envoys had told Ukrainian officials on Friday that the deal was part of an attempt to draw Russia back to \u200bnegotiations for a peace settlement.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n