Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026.
stringer | reuters
Oil prices rose nearly 2% on Sunday, after plans for a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran failed again.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also reportedly boarded two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz as tensions remain high in the strategic sea route.
international benchmark brent Oil futures rose 2% to $107.89 a barrel as of 6:27 p.m. ET. We crude oil also jumped more than 2% to $96.63.
President Donald Trump on Saturday canceled plans to send US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with Iran.
“Too much time wasted traveling, too much work! Plus, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,'” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“No one, including him, knows who is in charge,” the president said. “Besides, we have all the cards; they don’t have any! If they want to talk, they just have to call!!!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Islamabad over the weekend but met only with Pakistani officials before leaving.
“There are no plans to hold any meetings between Iran and the United States,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said in a social media post on Friday.
