Israeli Intelligence Chief Visits Washington At Tense Juncture In U.S.-Iran War. Oil Prices Could Increase.

Roman Gofman, the director of national Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, is currently in the U.S. holding talks with American officials regarding ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, reports say.

Gofman is holding a meeting with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and will subsequently travel to Miami to meet U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Axios reported on Friday. On the basis of conversations with sources familiar with the matter, The Jerusalem Post confirmed the news.

Both outlets also claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is at risk of being replaced by a coalition led by opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot after Israel's October elections produced inconclusive results, is lobbying President Donald Trump to restart full hostilities with Tehran.

Although Trump has apparently resisted this pressure from Tel Aviv, there have been indications that the conflict between Washington and Tehran could escalate in the near future.

On Thursday, Trump revealed that he had instructed Vice President JD Vance to "focus his complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States throughout the U.S," claiming that Washington did not "need a deal with Iran."

Vance, who publicly admitted that U.S. participation in the Iran war had been a driving factor behind the Republicans' landslide losses in the recent midterms, has been pushing for direct negotiations between the two adversaries, and is said to have been an opponent to U.S. military action against the Middle Eastern country right up until the U.S. and Israel began their joint campaign in February.

For its part, Tehran is also maintaining an aggressive posture, having reportedly attempted an attack on a U.S. radar installation in Bahrain overnight and targeted ship navigation systems on the Omani island of Didamar in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

The Gulf states have apparently increased ship-to-ship transfers off the Omani coast to increase their oil flows via the Hormuz Strait.

The attacks against Washington's Gulf allies likely represent renewed efforts by Iran to disrupt these nations' recovering oil exports, which have resurged to 80 to 85% of pre-war levels, and therefore maintain leverage over global and regional oil supply.

Oil prices, having dipped significantly since the Democrats' midterm victory, are showing signs of increasing again. Brent Crude, the international benchmark, fell to below $90 a barrel on Tuesday, but has since risen and stands at approximately $95.79 as of 13:26 p.m. ET.

If Trump makes good on his pledge to steer Vance away from talks and Israeli intelligence persuades Washington to take Netanyahu's view on intensifying the conflict, oil prices are likely to reverse course towards their pre-election highs.