Tensions in the Middle East Keep Climbing. Brent Crude is Near a Five-Month High.

Oil prices keep climbing on Friday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalate further.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained more than 1.5% at 8:50 a.m. ET and clocked in at $114.89, hovering around a five-month high. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, climbed 1.77% and stood at $101.23 at the same time.

Prices remain high even though oil exports from the Persian Gulf have surpassed levels recorded before the war as U.S. protection, alternative pipelines and lucrative shipping deals keep crude moving despite attacks on tankers.

Flows through Hormuz and alternative regional routes averaged more than 24 million barrels daily during the week ended October 18, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited ship-tracking company Kpler. That exceeded the prewar average of 23.3 million barrels.

However, traffic through the Hormuz Strait itself remains below its previous level. Preliminary Kpler figures put flows through the strait, including offshore transfers in the Gulf of Oman, at approximately 14 million barrels daily, equivalent to 82% of prewar volumes.

The broader rebound reflects an expanding network of routes and shipping arrangements that has reduced Iran's ability to interrupt its neighbors' exports, even as vessels face serious danger.

Iran has also been increasing the pace of attacks against vessels seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz, claiming on Thursday that it hit seven vessels. Should the figure be confirmed officially, it would be the largest for a single day since the war began in late February.

Tehran is also threatening to escalate as tensions keep climbing. "If a country attacks us, we will both respond and go on the offensive," Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said on Wednesday. He went on to claim that the previous doctrine was defensive and focused on responding to attacks, but will now be asymmetric.

Other reports have claimed that the U.S. and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed attacks against Iran after the former's midterms in early November. Both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rejected resuming the war after the elections, with Israel also heading to the polls on October 27, but ramped up the rhetoric over the past weeks.

At the same time, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said the country is prepared for a "long stand-off" with Iran as the war shows no signs of abating.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Waltz said he still has hopes that Tehran will sit down to negotiate and reach a "meaningful agreement" with the U.S., but President Donald Trump is still willing to "maintain this blockade for the foreseeable future."