Oil prices rose more than two percent in Asian trading on Thursday, hitting their highest levels in more than six weeks, as risks threatening shipping in the Middle East escalated after Houthi rebels targeted oil tankers in the Red Sea and the United States continued its strikes on Iran.

Brent crude futures rose $2.20, or 2.3 percent, to $96.27 per barrel by 03:27 GMT, the highest level since June 8, after ending Wednesday's session up more than $3 at $94.07 per barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also rose $1.65, or 1.9 percent, to $88.48 a barrel, following gains of about 3 percent in the previous session.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced that an oil tanker caught fire following an explosion while trying to cross a path it described as 'mined' south of the Strait of Hormuz, while two other tankers turned back.

The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that the Strait of Hormuz was 'under its control' and 'completely closed' as long as U.S. operations continued in the region, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.

Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, said oil prices face rare risks from simultaneous disruptions in both the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.

She added: 'The geopolitical risk premium has returned to prices, but sustaining the uptrend will require evidence of long-term shipping disruption or tangible supply outages.'

Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, said the naval blockade announced by the Houthis in the Red Sea threatens to disrupt global energy supplies outside the Gulf region, adding that this route is the main pathway for Gulf oil exports that avoid passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and up to five million barrels per day are transported via it.

Meanwhile, a Revolutionary Guards spokesman warned shipping companies via a post on X that the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz had become 'mined'.

On the military front, the U.S. military said it completed the twelfth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy 'an Iranian bridge or power plant' every time Iran fired on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a move reflecting the escalating confrontation between the two countries.