European stocks mixed and Asia-Pacific markets rise as investors assess renewed Middle East hostilities

JUST IN: Oil climbs as Middle East turmoil persists, with Brent up 1.34% to $97.57 a barrel after US strikes on three Iranian oil tankers and Tehran targeting US warships.

Brent crude is at 97 dollars 57 a barrel this morning, up 1.34 percent, and the reason is grim. The United States struck three Iranian oil tankers over the weekend, and Centcom says Tehran answered by firing ballistic missiles at American warships.

On the ground, the human cost of this war keeps mounting, and these pictures show what that looks like.

The diplomatic track is fading too. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday there may not be a nuclear agreement at all, that the alternative is simply destroying Iran's capabilities, and that a deal might have to wait for the next administration in Tehran.

Markets, oddly, held up. Japan's Nikkei closed 2.12 percent higher, South Korea's Kospi jumped 4.61 percent, Europe was mixed, and Wall Street is closed for the holiday. But with WTI at 92 dollars and no deal in sight, the oil market is pricing a long war, not a short one.

This is Dave King, reporting for HIT.