President Trump is willing to ease sanctions on Iran and release its frozen funds in exchange for concrete progress on its nuclear program, a U.S. official told Axios, CNN and Al Jazeera, an offer that knocked almost 4% off U.S. oil prices within 30 minutes. The official said talks through mediators remain "positive and constructive," but there will be no agreement without addressing the nuclear file.

Washington wants guarantees that Iran is serious about a long-term settlement rather than seeking a way out of its economic crisis, the official said, pointing to Iran's firing on commercial ships in violation of the earlier memorandum of understanding. Sequencing remains the sticking point, with neither side agreeing on when concessions would take effect.

Iranian officials privately see little prospect of an agreement to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before the Nov. 3 midterms, Bloomberg reports, after talks in New York made limited progress with nuclear concessions and the strait as the main sticking points. Fading hopes of a near-term breakthrough had pushed Brent above $106. Iran said Friday it would no longer negotiate over its nuclear program, the main U.S. demand.