NEW YORK — Oil prices soared about 8 percent to their highest since July 2024 on Tuesday, rising for a third session as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran widened, disrupting oil and gas fuel shipments in the Middle East and heightening fears of a prolonged conflict. Brent futures rose $6.07, or 7.8 percent, to $83.81 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. EST (1535 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate increased $6, or 8.4 percent, to $77.23. That keeps both crude benchmarks in technically overbought territory for a second day and on track to close at their highest levels since July 2024 for Brent and January 2025 for WTI. In addition, the premium of Brent over WTI rose to $8 a barrel, its highest since November 2022. Analysts have said when this premium rises over $4, it supports crude exports from the U.S. The U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran has widened since Israel's first attacks on Saturday. Israel has attacked Lebanon, and Iran has responded with strikes against energy infrastructure in Gulf countries and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied n