Crude oil surges to $108 a barrel as Iran dismisses US proposal to cease hostilities as biased

The global crude oil market experienced a significant surge yesterday, with prices increasing by 5.98 percent to reach $108.3 per barrel, as Iranian officials continued to criticize the 15-point peace plan proposed by the United States to end the US-Israel war on the country.

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This criticism came after the US President, Donald Trump, presented the proposal, which includes demands such as dismantling Iran's nuclear program and curbing its missiles, effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz to the US and its allies.

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In response, a senior Iranian official stated that the proposal lacked the minimum requirements for success and served only US and Israeli interests, emphasizing that Iran's exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz was the country's "natural and legal right".

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Before the crisis began in late February, the price of crude oil was significantly lower, with NNPC selling petrol at N860 per litre and major marketers dispensing at N880 per litre in Nigeria.

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However, with the ongoing war, petrol prices have skyrocketed, with government-owned retail outfit, NNPC Limited, selling at N1,261 per litre in Abuja and major marketers dispensing at N1,371 per litre.

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Iranian officials have maintained that they have not ruled out diplomacy in the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war, despite the lack of a realistic plan for peace talks at present.

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Trump warned Tehran to get serious about talks to end the conflict, claiming that Iran's top officials were afraid to admit taking part in any negotiation "because they figure they'll be killed by their own people".

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Trump also described Iranian negotiators as "very different and strange", adding that 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".

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Iran has rejected Trump's pick for negotiators, including his Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, preferring instead to deal with Vice President, J.D. Vance.

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According to a report in The Guardian, Iran views Vance as a more acceptable diplomatic figure than Witkoff and Kushner, especially given his skepticism of US military action in the Middle East.

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Trump 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, insisting that Iran was being "beat to shit" and was "begging" for a deal.

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Meanwhile, Israel claimed to have killed an Iranian Navy Chief, Alireza Tangsiri, who was overseeing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with Defence Minister Israel Katz stating that Tangsiri "was directly responsible" for the effective strait's closure.

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US President Donald Trump also revealed that taking control of Iran's oil was an "option", comparing it to the deal Washington made with Venezuela after toppling Nicolas Maduro, saying that the United States had done very well with Venezuela's reserves.