Crude prices closed higher on Thursday, rebounding from the previous session’s losses, as hopes for a swift end to the war in the Middle East faded.
Brent futures rose $5.79 or 5.7 per cent to settle at $108.01 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $4.16 or 4.6 per cent to close at $94.48 a barrel.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US sent a 15-point action list to Iran as a basis for negotiations to end the war, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran was reviewing the proposal but that there were no talks on winding down the war.
The 15-point proposal, sent through Pakistan, would remove Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, halt enrichment, curb its ballistic missile program and cut funding for regional allies.
For Iran, it said the proposal lacks the minimum requirements for success and serves only the US and Israel’s interests, but stressed that diplomacy has not ended despite the lack, for now, of a realistic peace plan.
Amid this, President Donald Trump said Iran has offered to let 10 oil tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture in the negotiations.
A Thai oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz following diplomatic coordination with Iran, and Malaysia said its vessels were also being allowed to transit. Iran also said it would consider any request from Spain related to the Strait of Hormuz because it respects international law.
France held talks with around 35 countries on Thursday as it sought partners and proposals for a mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends.
Reuters reported that the Pentagon, which is the headquarters building of the US Department of Defence, is planning to send thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf to give President Trump more options for a ground assault.
On the Iranian side, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it stands ready to strike the key Red Sea waterway again in solidarity with Iran. This indicates that the war may extend for a longer period with the latest developments.
The war has nearly halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) supply, in what the International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) have called the biggest disruptions.
Meanwhile, countries continue to feel the impact of the war. Iraq, the second-biggest crude producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) behind Saudi Arabia in 2025, has seen oil production slump with storage tanks reaching high and critical levels.