Dorothy

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, stood at approximately $94 a barrel on Thursday, which is about where the price stood at the same time last month when fighting resumed between the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that the strait was “open and operating” and posted a map depicting it as a U.S. territory. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called him a “deluded man.”

By Monday, a 60-day ceasefire deal expired, and neither side has signaled any progress on talks to end the war—which Trump claims is aimed at stopping Iran from building nuclear weapons, even though his own intelligence agencies have said it wasn't trying to do so. Trump notably ditched the Obama administration's Iran nuclear deal during his first term.

The oil price rise comes after the UAE said Wednesday it was halting all trade and financial transactions with Iran after the Gulf state said it had come under fire from the Islamic Republic on Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Thursday that the U.S. would impose some of the “toughest sanctions in history” on Iran next week, doubling down on the Trump administration’s economic warfare strategy as diplomacy stalls.

Mr. Trump added that diplomacy with Iran could happen “maybe at some point.” On Tuesday, he had insisted that the economic pressure campaign would continue and the White House had no plans to talk to the Iranians in the near future.

However, diplomatic momentum collapsed as Iran demanded that the U.S. break off its naval blockade and ease sanctions before the strait could be reopened.

Iranian officials are currently holding negotiations with Oman to hammer out a framework agreement for future control over the Strait of Hormuz. The pending plan, which was rumored to be in the final stages weeks ago, may outline specific routes for commercial ships to take to safely transit the passage.

Earlier this month, Iranian and U.S. officials indicated that the two sides were circling a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, establish a ceasefire and open the door to further technical talks.

The strait itself has become the center of nearly every conversation surrounding the war. For Iran, the waterway is key to its influence in the region after the war, with key ministers and security officials insisting that Tehran maintain significant control over the waterway.