05:46 AM EDT, 03/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Crude oil prices surged as optimism about a potential ceasefire in the Middle East fizzled out and supply concerns came back into focus.

Brent crude at last look rose 3.9% to US$106.24/barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.8% to $93.76/barrel. Iran's foreign minister said the country has no intention of holding talks to end the Middle East conflict despite its review of a U.S. proposal to end the war, Reuters said in a Thursday report.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump will hit harder if Iran fails to accept that it has been "defeated militarily," the report said.

The bar set by the U.S. appeared high, leaving oil prices vulnerable to further volatility depending on negotiations and military actions by both sides, Reuters quoted Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute, as saying.

The U.S. 15-point proposal calls for removing Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile program and cutting off funding for regional allies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources familiar with the plan.