Germán Vogel / Getty Images
Oil prices surged Thursday after Iran's supreme leader ordered the country's enriched uranium stockpile to stay within its borders, a position that threatens to deepen the stalemate in U.S.-Iran peace negotiations, according to Reuters.
By 9:15 a.m. ET, U.S. crude had climbed close to 4%, reaching $101.96 a barrel, while Brent, the international benchmark, gained roughly 3% to settle at $108.34.
Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has personally directed that the country's uranium enriched close to weapons grade must not leave Iranian territory. According to those sources, the view among Iran's senior leadership is that allowing the stockpile to cross its borders would expose the country to a heightened risk of future military action from the U.S. and Israel.
Removing Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is a central U.S. condition for ending the war. Israeli officials have told Reuters that President Donald Trump assured Israel any peace deal would include a clause requiring that stockpile to leave Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not consider the war over until it is removed.
