Oil Prices Rise as Trump Warns Iran ‘Clock Is Ticking’ on Peace Talks

Oil prices rose Monday morning in Asia after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that “the clock is ticking” as peace talks stalled.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.85% to $111.28 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 2.32% to $107.87.

Energy markets have remained volatile since Iran effectively shut the key Strait of Hormuz waterway in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country that began Feb. 28.

The strait carries approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

“They better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote on social media. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

Iranian media reported that Washington had failed to make any concrete concessions in its response to Tehran’s latest proposals to end the conflict.

A lack of compromise from the U.S. would lead to an “impasse in the negotiations,” the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

Trump’s message echoed his earlier threat that a “whole civilization” would die unless Tehran agreed to a peace deal, shortly before a ceasefire was announced in early April.

The president warned last week that the truce was on “massive life support” after rejecting Iran’s demands, labeling them “totally unacceptable.”

He is expected to hold a meeting Tuesday with his top national security advisers to discuss options for military action regarding Iran, according to news platform Axios.

During the conflict, Iran has launched attacks on neighboring countries including Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

On Sunday, the UAE said a drone strike triggered a fire near its nuclear power station, calling the incident a “dangerous escalation.”

Officials are investigating the source of the strike. The country’s defense ministry said three drones entered the UAE from the “western border direction.”

While two were intercepted, the third drone struck an electrical generator “outside the inner perimeter” of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, sparking a fire.

No injuries were reported, and there was no impact on radiological safety levels, local authorities said.