Global oil prices increased following new US airstrikes in Iran that killed eight Iranian soldiers. According to Reuters, as of 12:54 a.m. GMT, Brent crude rose by 78 cents, or 1 percent, reaching 78.80 dollars per barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also climbed 74 cents, or 1.01 percent, to 74.26 dollars per barrel.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA confirmed that the US strikes occurred early Wednesday in southern Iran, targeting areas near Bandar Abbas and Bushehr. The casualties included members of Iran’s air and naval forces. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks on key US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The IRGC stated through state broadcaster IRIB that the attacks marked the first phase of a “punitive response,” targeting Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem bases in Kuwait, as well as Juffair and Sheikh Isa bases in Bahrain.