Clarity on exactly what was hit in Iran and by whom is hard to come by. There were many purported videos of Iranian infrastructure on fire, including oil facilities but there's a near-blackout on credible news leaving the country.
The official line is that a site in Isfahan suffered only minor damage from a drone strike.
"Around 23:30 on Saturday night, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) on one of the ministry's workshop sites," the country's defense ministry said in a statement carried by Iran's state TV, according to Reuters.
The statement said one drone was shot down, "and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up. It caused only minor damage to the roof of a workshop building. There were no casualties."
Footage of the strike does seem to corroborate that as the small drone didn't appear to pierce the walls.
Oil opened 70-cents higher but the market quickly discounted the strike, in part because there was no retaliation. WTI has now turned sharply lower and is down $1.35 to $78.31. The move is reminiscent of the assassination of Iran general Qasem Soleimani on Jan 3, 2020. It sparked a short-lived rally in oil that was quickly faded.
Technically, oil failed ahead of $83 several times last week.
