Crude prices continued to climb as tensions around Iran and U.S. maritime restrictions intensified. Earlier, WTI crude and Brent crude each rose 5.00% intraday to $80.17 and $85.58 a barrel, respectively, after the Iranian Foreign Ministry said a U.S. sea blockade against Iran would be an act of aggression. In the latest move, Brent briefly touched $90 a barrel and finished up 1.4% at $88.91 after The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. forces fired on a Panama-flagged ship that tried to run the American blockade of Iranian ports early Tuesday. The moves underscore how threats to shipping access and regional stability can quickly feed into global oil benchmarks.