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Oil prices rose during Wednesday’s trading after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back against reports that Washington is ready to ease sanctions on Iran. The hardening stance comes as Qatar intensifies its mediation efforts to broker an understanding between Washington and Tehran, re-injecting a geopolitical risk premium into global crude benchmarks.

The expiring November Brent crude contract gained 0.28% to trade at $102.80 per barrel, while the more actively traded December contract climbed 35 cents to $96.51 per barrel. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also edged higher, up 0.01% to $89.39 per barrel.

Brent is heading toward monthly gains of nearly 14%—its strongest performance since July—while WTI is on track for a roughly 4% increase across September, having recently breached the $106 per barrel mark for the first time since May.

Iran Sanctions Keep Geopolitical Premium Intact

President Trump dismissed media reports suggesting Washington was prepared to make concessions under a potential deal, affirming that he has no intention of granting sanctions relief or releasing frozen Iranian assets in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Qatar indicated it hopes indirect mediation between the United States and Iran will yield tangible diplomatic breakthroughs, as lingering regional tensions continue to hang over Middle Eastern energy corridors.

Market Balancing Supply Prospects and Escalation Risks

Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, noted that persistent uncertainty surrounding sanctions relief and diplomatic talks keeps a geopolitical risk premium firmly embedded in oil prices.

She added that while improving supply fundamentals could cap price upside, any renewed flare-ups or escalations in geopolitical frictions could swiftly trigger another bull run in crude markets.