Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said talks with Iran to end the war are in their "final stages."
WTI crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell below $100 a barrel on hopes the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened soon. Concretely, it dropped over 6% at 1:59 p.m. ET and clocked in at $98.04.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped by 6.4% and fell below $105 at the same time.
CNBC cited a pool report claiming that Trump told reporters that negotiations with Iran are close to ending, but recalled that he has made several optimistic claims in the past only for talks to remain deadlocked.
Iran has not claimed there has been any progress in talks, and its revolutionary guard threatened to take the war beyond the region if it's struck again by the U.S. or Israel on Wednesday.
In a statement, the powerful paramilitary group said it has not brought all its "capacities" into action, but if it's attacked again, the "the regional war that had been warned of will this time spread beyond the region, and our crushing blows will bring you to ruin in places you cannot even imagine."
"We are men of war, and you will witness our power on the battlefield," the document added.
At the same time, Trump reportedly held a tense call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the matter.
One source familiar with the matter told Axios that Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" after the conversation. The Israeli prime minister is skeptical about negotiations and wants to restart the war, while Trump has continued extending the ceasefire to give diplomacy more chances.
Trump told Netanyahu that mediators were working on a "letter of intent" that the countries would sign to end the war and begin a 30-day period of negotiations on matters like Iran's nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump highlighted on Wednesday that he has a good relationship with Netanyahu, but he will do "whatever I want him to do" in regards to the matter.
