BEIJING: Oil prices rose on Friday morning over fears of renewed military escalation in the ​Middle East after Iran ⁠released footage of commandos boarding a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz ‌and on reports Tehran's air defences had engaged "hostile targets".

Brent crude futures rose $1.23, or 1.17%, to $106.3 a barrel by 0107 ​GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.07, or 1.12%, at $96.92.

Both benchmark contracts settled up more than ​3% on ​Thursday and jumped $5 a barrel after reports that air defences were engaging targets over Tehran and of a power struggle between Iran's hardliners and moderates.

U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠said that Iran may have loaded up its weaponry "a little bit" during the two-week ceasefire, but added that the U.S. military could eliminate it in just a single day.

The ceasefire phase is increasingly looking like a preparatory phase for war, Haitong Futures said in a report. ​If U.S.-Iran talks ‌fail to make ⁠key progress by ⁠the end of April and fighting resumes, oil prices could climb to new highs for the year, it ​added.

Iran on Thursday posted video of commandos in a speedboat storming ‌a huge cargo ship after the collapse of ⁠peace talks, underlining its grip over the Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of global oil and gas usually flows.

As investors and governments around the world look for an enduring peace, Trump said he would not set a "timetable" for ending the conflict with Iran and that he wanted to make "a great deal."

"Don't rush me," he said when asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran.

Prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push global crude and refined-product inventories below five-year seasonal lows ‌by late May or early June, adding a supply-risk premium back ⁠into oil prices, said Mingyu Gao, chief researcher for energy and ​chemicals at China Futures.

Trump also announced in a social media post on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after a high-level meeting between ​representatives of both countries ‌in the White House Oval Office.

Before that announcement, Israel warned ⁠that it was ready to restart attacks ​on Iran. (Reporting by Sam Li and Helen Clark Editing by Shri Navaratnam)