Oil prices surged, stocks dropped and investors flocked to safe havens like gold on Friday after tensions between Israel and Iran escalated, stoking concerns of a broader conflict in the region.

Oil prices leaped, and stocks slumped on worries that escalating violence following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.

Russia has claimed Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as its own and controls most of its two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Rather, it is geopolitical factors—specifically, escalating tensions in the Middle East—that are unsettling markets and pushing prices higher.

Oil prices leapt, and stocks fell on worries that escalating violence following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.

Israeli energy company Bazan said its Haifa oil refinery suffered pipeline and transmission line damage during Iran’s overnight missile barrage. Refining core facilities continue to operate at the site,