STRAIT OF HORMUZ — Oil prices surged early Thursday as tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian retaliatory actions that paralyzed commercial maritime traffic through the waterway. Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, jumped 6.9% to $108.15 per barrel before trading around $108 per barrel early Thursday.

Iran has paralyzed commercial maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with missile and drone attacks across the Persian Gulf in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes since Feb. 28. The disruption sent benchmark U.S. crude up 6.4% to $106.55 per barrel before early Thursday, with oil prices rising after President Trump's Wednesday evening remarks.

"Countries that receive oil through the strait must take care of that passage. Just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves," Trump said Wednesday night.

China on Thursday said that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran were the root cause of the Strait of Hormuz blockade. "The root cause of interruptions to navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is the United States and Israel's illegal military operations against Iran," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is open to vessels not linked to the U.S. or Israel. Iran has begun charging fees to ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. A recent analysis shows the majority of tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz over the last month have been Iranian or Iranian-linked.

Trump offered no new information about U.S. objectives in the Iran war or any plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. He vowed to continue U.S. strikes on Iran for two to three more weeks.

Iran's military promised attacks across the Middle East in retaliation for ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes. U.S. gas prices averaged over $4 per gallon.