Oil prices advanced last week amid concerns that President Donald Trump would withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the country.
Trump, who has referred to the agreement as the “worst deal ever,” said in January that the U.S. would not again waive sanctions on Iran unless European countries fixed the agreement’s “terrible flaws.”
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani most recently said his country had plans to “resist any decision by Trump” and that the U.S. would be “making a mistake” by withdrawing from the accord.
The agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has seen international sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for the country curbing its nuclear program.
Iran is currently the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the fifth-largest globally. The return of sanctions on the country could result in as many as 1 million barrels of Iranian crude supply being wiped out and push oil prices higher.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.
