Key Takeaways

• Prices stay elevated: Brent crude rose 1.2% to $106.64 per barrel and WTI gained 0.9% to $95.21, with Brent earlier touching $107.97.
• Iran’s new offer: Tehran has reportedly proposed to the U.S. a fresh deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, while pushing nuclear program talks to a later stage — a sticking point for Washington.
• Talks collapse: Trump abruptly canceled a planned U.S. delegation trip to Pakistan over the weekend, shortly after Iranian officials departed Islamabad.
• Hormuz remains shut: Oil flows through the critical waterway show no signs of improvement, with the strait effectively blocked since late February — cutting off roughly 20% of global crude supply.
• Supply squeeze tightens: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Washington will not renew the waiver that briefly allowed purchases of Russian and Iranian oil already at sea.
• Standoff endures: The U.S. demands Iran reopen Hormuz before serious peace talks; Iran insists Washington first lift its naval blockade.

Oil prices pared back some of their gains during Asian trading on Monday after a media report indicated that Iran had submitted a fresh proposal to the United States aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Even so, crude held on to most of its strength after another round of U.S.-Iran peace negotiations broke down over the weekend, while shipments through Hormuz continued to trickle at minimal levels.

Brent crude futures climbed 1.2% to $106.64 per barrel by 00:31 ET (04:31 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 0.9% to $95.21 per barrel.

Brent had earlier in the session surged as high as $107.97.

Iran Floats New Hormuz Proposal — Axios

Iran has presented Washington with a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring the war to an end, Axios reported on Sunday.

According to the Axios report, the offer also calls for postponing discussions over Iran’s nuclear program until a later date — a stipulation likely to face strong pushback from the United States.

Demands that Iran surrender its uranium stockpile and halt all nuclear activities have been two of Washington’s central objectives throughout the conflict. Tehran has largely refused these terms, although the actual state of Iran’s nuclear capabilities — following the punishing U.S. strikes in mid-2025 — remains shrouded in uncertainty.

The U.S. has repeatedly insisted that Hormuz must reopen before any meaningful peace negotiations can move forward. Iran, for its part, has demanded that Washington dismantle its naval blockade as a precondition.

U.S.-Iran Talks Fall Apart, Hormuz Disruptions Persist

U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped a scheduled visit by American officials to Pakistan for Iran-related talks over the weekend, shortly after Iranian negotiators had departed Islamabad.

The two sides have remained deeply divided, even after Trump’s indefinite extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire earlier in April.

While Washington and Tehran have refrained from direct combat since the ceasefire was agreed, the underlying tensions between them remain firmly elevated.

Crude shipments through Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global energy markets — showed virtually no signs of recovery over the weekend, leaving traders on edge over the prospect of continued supply shortfalls.

Compounding worries about tighter oil supplies, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Washington had no intention of renewing a waiver that had permitted the purchase of Russian and Iranian oil currently in transit at sea.

The waiver had been temporarily granted to help offset some of the supply disruptions arising from the Iran conflict.

Iran has effectively sealed off Hormuz since late February in retaliation for joint U.S.-Israeli operations — a move that has choked off roughly 20% of the world’s crude supply.