WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iran in a tweet on Sunday.
Benchmark Brent crude rose about 0.4 percent to $72.53 while WTI crude futures were up 0.3 percent at $63.12 per barrel.
'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!,' Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon after reports emerged that a rocket was fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone less than a mile away from the U.S. Embassy.
Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabian diplomat said his country doesn't want to go to war with Iran but would defend itself after two Saudi oil tankers were targeted by acts of sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates last week.
Crude oil futures pared early gains and settled modestly lower on Friday, but still closed the week with solid gains, amid prospects of supply disruptions due to escalation in tensions in the Middle East.
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