Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Stringer | Reuters<\/p>\n
Oil prices jumped about 2% Sunday, after plans for a second round of peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran unraveled again.<\/p>\n
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also reportedly boarded two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz as tensions in the strategic sea lane remain high. <\/p>\n
International benchmark Brent<\/a> oil futures rose more 2% to $107.89 per barrel by 6:27 p.m. ET. U.S. crude oil<\/a> also jumped more than 2% to $96.63. <\/p>\n President Donald Trump on Saturday cancelled plans to send U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, Pakistan for negotiations with Iran. <\/p>\n “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,'” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. <\/p>\n “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” the president said. “Also, we have all the cards; they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”<\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Islamabad over the weekend but met only with Pakistani officials before leaving. <\/p>\n “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S.,” \u00a0Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a social media post late Friday. <\/p>\n CNBC’s Sarah Whitten<\/a>, Azhar Sukri<\/a> and Kevin Breuninger<\/a> contributed to this report. <\/p>\n