Oil Prices Soar as US-Iran Tensions Escalate Amid Threats and Diplomatic Efforts

Oil prices are rising again as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate. On Monday, Brent crude reached $101.58 per barrel, up 2.35%, while West Texas Intermediate gained 1.66% to above $92 a barrel.

The price increase comes after the U.S. and Iran traded fresh threats, with Tehran's General Staff calling President Trump's threats of annihilation 'a sign of their strategic desperation.'

Iranian forces believe Trump's threat do not change power calculations and will never compensate for America's diminished position in the new global order or its humiliating defeats in the war against Iran and the Resistance Front, according to a statement published in the country's semi-official news agency Merh.

Meanwhile, President Trump said U.S. and Iran officials met for three hours to discuss whether it is possible to end hostilities, with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner representing the Trump administration and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leading the Tehran delegation.