Russian President Vladimir Putin may have lost another close ally after the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but an oil shock from conflict in Middle East spells potential good news for his war chest. The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway giving access to the Persian Gulf and one of the world's key chokepoints for tankers carrying oil and liquefied natural gas. That is firing speculation that global crude prices could spike dramatically, boosting Russian revenues. "$100+ oil per barrel soon," Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev gloated on X Saturday evening. The current price of Brent crude is about $73 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate trades at about $67.