The price of oil has surged due to continued conflict in the Middle East; Canada's defence chief says Canada "could" be called in to assist Gulf countries, and Iran continues its missile and drone strikes, focusing on Kurdish fighters in Iraq.With the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for the global oil trade, continuing to be shut by Iranian forces, the price of oil has skyrocketed. The current price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for the price of Canadian Select, is currently just below $90 a barrel, up from $67 a barrel just before the conflict started.While this won't be good news for motorists at the pumps, this is a blessing for the Canadian energy industry, and, in turn, the Alberta provincial government.The provincial government just projected a substantial deficit, mainly due to the stagnant price of oil, but with this recent surge, this deficit could be slashed, according to figures inside the provincial government.Rob Anderson, the executive director of the Office of the Premier, said in an interview that this oil surge could drastically reduce the massive $9.4 billion deficit."If you recall, I don't have the exact budget number in front of me right now, but the deficit was going to be about $5 billion. Well, there's a chance it will have been cut in half by the end of the year. If these prices continue, you could see it in kind of the mid-twos, something like that," Anderson said when asked about what impact rising oil prices could have on the Alberta deficit..Continuing in news coming out related to the conflict in the Middle East, the Chief of Defence Staff has said that Canada "could" be called in to assist Canada's "Gulf partners.""Our Gulf partners may require defence and support," said Gen. Jennie Carignan, following statements from Prime Minister Mark Carney that Canada may become involved if it is called upon.Canada does not have any mutual defence treaties with these Gulf nations, so any involvement of Canadian assets would be a drastic change in foreign policy.Conservatives have said that any decisions about Canadian action in the Middle East should be discussed in Parliament before anything is decided..In the Middle East, Iran has continued its ongoing drone and missile strikes, with a recent focus on the Kurds in Iraq who are trying to encourage rebellion in the Kurdish ethnic regions of Iran.Iran has been targeting the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan with ballistic missiles and drone strikes at their bases near to the Iranian border..The United States and Israel have continued their strikes on Iran, targeting missile bases, airfields, and military command centres. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has released more footage of successful strikes against Iranian targets over the last couple of days, with videos showing the destruction of missile sites and artillery vehicles. .On Friday morning, US President Donald Trump stated on his Truth Social platform that he wouldn't accept anything less than "unconditional surrender.".Trump also previously stated that this unconditional surrender would also include him and the American administration having a say in who the next leader of Iran will be.
