Oil prices jump more than 3% after Iran supreme leader says uranium must remain in country
Oil prices rose Thursday on a report that Iran’s supreme leader would not allow the country’s enriched uranium to be sent abroad; This will likely complicate peace talks with the United States.
US crude oil It was up nearly 4% to $101.96 per barrel as of 9:15 a.m. ET. International comparison Brent crude oil It rose nearly 3% to $108.34.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered Iran’s enriched uranium to remain in the Islamic Republic, two senior Iranian sources said. Reuters. President Donald Trump said eliminating Iran’s nuclear program is one of the main goals of the US war.
Trump said earlier this week that the United States had canceled airstrikes on Iran at the request of its Gulf Arab allies to give more time for diplomacy. Iran and the United States have made little progress toward a deal since agreeing to a fragile ceasefire last month.
Trump on Wednesday threatened to resume military action if Iran did not provide “100 percent good answers” in talks, but said he was willing to wait a few more days to allow talks.
“We’re all ready to go,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, referring to U.S. military action. “We have to have the right answers. They have to be 100% good answers.”
“If I can save war by waiting a few days, if I can save people from being killed by waiting a few days, I think that’s a great thing,” the president said.
Meanwhile, ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by Iran’s blockade of the sea route, a key trade route for global oil supplies.
The International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that the oil market will reach the “red zone” this summer if Hormuz is not reopened. IEA President Fatih Birol said that global oil stocks will be depleted as demand increases during summer travels.
