Beyond the strait: why attacks on Kargh Island could keep oil prices high

Oil could pass 2008 record of $147.50 a barrel as damage and field closures risk compounding supply shock caused by Iran war

About 20 miles off the coast of Iran lies the source of the petrostate's economic lifeblood and the latest target of US military aggression: an 8 sq mile coral island through which nine in every 10 barrels of Iranian crude passes each day.

The US president's decision to launch a weekend attack on Kharg Island, the home of Iran's processing hub and the heart of its economy, is an unsurprising counterstrike to the Iranian regime's ongoing chokehold on the oil market's trade artery.