Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, on Monday warned against any negotiations with the United States under sanction pressures.
"The enemy seeks to force us to the negotiating table under economic pressures," Soleimani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
Last week, Washington ended six months of waivers for Iran's major oil buyers and demanded they stop purchases by May. The decision came following its earlier ban on Venezuela's oil, which continued to play its role in tightening the global supplies and keeping the prices up.
The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery was up 0.20 dollar to settle at 63.50 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery fell 0.11 dollar to close at 72.04 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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