A tanker enters the Phillips 66 Freeport Terminal in Freeport, Texas, USA on Friday, January 16, 2026.
Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei should be “very concerned.”
usa crude oil Crude oil prices rose $1.93, or 3.05%, to close at $65.14 per barrel. global benchmark brent It rose $2.13 (3.16%) to settle at $69.46 per barrel.
“I think he should be very concerned. Yes, he should be,” President Trump said in an interview with NBC News. “You know, they’re negotiating with us.”
The president threatened to launch an attack on Iran if it did not agree to a deal governing its nuclear program. He previously threatened to intervene on the side of protesters who rose against the Islamic Republic in January, but ultimately withdrew military action.
A conflict with Iran or the collapse of its regime could disrupt oil supplies in the Middle East. Iran is a member of OPEC and an important oil producing country.
However, there is still a chance that talks between the United States and Iran could ease tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with the United States on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program will take place in Muscat, Oman, at 10 a.m. Friday.
Planned talks nearly collapsed early Wednesday after Washington and Tehran could not agree on a location or format, Axios reported. Middle Eastern leaders have successfully lobbied the United States not to withdraw from the talks, two U.S. officials told Axios.
President Trump’s warning came after the U.S. military said Tuesday it shot down an Iranian drone that approached the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. According to U.S. Central Command, an Iranian gunboat also attempted to board a U.S. commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media said the drone was carrying out routine vigilance, which is permitted under international law.
