U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Iran of "outrageous and ridiculous" demands as efforts to reach a lasting resolution in the Middle East war appeared stalled.
Speaking with reporters in Florida on Sunday evening before traveling to Paris for the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, Rubio indicated the two sides remain far apart on negotiations, after Tehran proposed shortening the timetable for restarting talks from seven days to two.
Rubio said President Donald Trump would prefer to solve "this and every problem diplomatically," but added that "sometimes that's not possible, unfortunately."
Energy prices moved lower on Monday morning after President Trump said Sunday that further strikes were "highly unlikely" if negotiations progressed toward a strong agreement.
Brent crude, the international price benchmark, was down 0.75% at $97.58 per barrel by 5:25 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for December delivery were trading 0.42% lower at $90.45.