Oil price rises to $108 as Iran describes US plan to end war one-sided

2026-03-27 - 03:42

By Nkiruka Nnorom, Obas Esiedesa, with agency reports The price of crude oil in the international market continued to rise yesterday, with Iranian officials maintaining their criticism of the 15-point peace plan proposed by the United States to end the US-Israel war on the country, saying that it was one sided, unfair and skewed to favour US and Israel. Oil prices rose by 5.98 percent, yesterday to N108.3 per barrel following the rejection of peace talks by Iran in the ongoing Middle East War. “The price had dropped from N103 to $98 per barrel on Wednesday after the US President Donald Trump disclosed that America was in talks with Iran to end the crisis which has had a significant impact on energy prices across the globe. “In Nigeria, petrol prices remain high with government-owned retail outfit, NNPC Limited selling at N1,261 per litre in Abuja and major marketers dispensing at N1,371 per litre. “Before the crisis began in late February, NNPC sold at N860 per litre while major marketers dispensed at N880 per litre. A senior Iranian official, who spoke to Reuters on the development yesterday, said that the gulf state had not ruled out diplomacy in the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war despite the ?lack, for now, of a realistic plan for peace talks. Tehran maintained its position on its legal right to control and toll the Strait of Hormuz, a demand it had advanced as part of the deals to end the war. An Iranian official quoted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim News Agency said that Iran’s exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz was the country’s “natural and legal right”. The US President, Donald Trump, Wednesday, presented a 15-point proposal to Iran, demanding among other things dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively hand over control of the Strait of Hormuz. US further demanded that the regime should abandon the use of armed proxies in the region, and stop its funding and arming of regional allies. But restating its earlier position, the Iran’s official, whose identity was not revealed by Reuters, said the US’ proposal lacked the minimum requirements for success and served only US and Israeli interests. He stated that if realism prevailed in Washington, “a path forward may still be found” to resolve the crisis, adding that the proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, “was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader.” Trump urges Iran to ‘better get serious over peace talk,’ says Tehran afraid to admit talks Earlier, yesterday, Trump warned Tehran to get serious about talks to end the conflict and claimed the Iran top officials were afraid to admit taking part in any negotiation “because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people.” Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Iran was “begging” for a deal, after Iran’s foreign minister said messages conveyed through intermediaries did not amount to dialogue and that Iran had no intention of negotiating at present. Calling Iranian negotiators very different and strange, Trump added: “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is no turning back, and it won’t be pretty.” Trump later described the Iranians as “great negotiators” but said he was “not sure he’s willing to make a deal with them to end the war.” He said that it’s up to Iranian leaders to convince him to halt the war, saying he doesn’t care about making a deal and that the US has additional targets “to hit before we leave.” Iran rejects Trump’s pick for negotiators While the back and forth on possible negotiation continued, Iran said it was not keen any more on attempts at negotiations with Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, or Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, preferring instead to deal with Vice President, J.D. Vance, according to a report in The Guardian. Witkoff and Kushner were leading the nuclear negotiations with Iran before the US and Israel launched the strikes. Since the war was launched, the Iranian government has viewed those negotiations, headed by Witkoff and Kushner, as a front by the Trump administration to trick Iran into thinking they were negotiating in good faith, when the U.S. really just wanted to attack. “With the previous negotiating team, there’s no chance,” one diplomatic source told the Guardian. “The Iranian side regards the request for negotiations as another round of deception for the US-Israeli regime to find out a loophole to aggravate the strikes again.” The source noted that Iran sees Vance as a more acceptable diplomatic figure than Witkoff and Kushner, especially as Vance is, at his core, a skeptic of U.S. military action in the Middle East. Vance, a Marine who served in public affairs during the Iraq War, has traditionally been wary of U.S. foreign intervention throughout his career in politics. “If the negotiations are going to have any outcome, JD Vance should join,” the source told the outlet. “With Witkoff and Kushner, nothing will come out of it. We have seen that in the past.” I’m not desperate for Iran deal— Trump Trump also denied being “desperate” to make a deal with Iran, as he mixed threats with diplomacy in a push to wrap up his war in the Middle East. Holding his first cabinet meeting since the start of the joint US-Israeli operation, Trump insisted that Iran was being “beat to shit” and was “begging” for a deal, despite Tehran’s denials. Israel eliminates Iranian navy chief overseeing Hormuz closure Meanwhile, Israel said it killed an Iranian Navy Chief, Alireza Tangsiri, overseeing the blockade of the strait. Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said Tangsiri “was directly responsible” for the effective strait’s closure. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his killing is “yet another example” of co-operation between the US and Israel. In a video message in Hebrew, Netanyahu said that Israel continues to “forcefully strike” targets across Iran. US mulls control of Iran’s oil Speaking during a cabinet meeting, yesterday, Trump said that taking control of Iran’s oil was an “option,” comparing it to the deal Washington made with Venezuela after toppling Nicolas Maduro. “It’s an option,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting when asked if he was looking to take control of Iran’s oil, saying that the United States had done very well with Venezuela’s reserves. Vanguard News