Brent crude futures rose $1.23, or 1.17%, to $106.3 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.07, or 1.12%, at $96.92.

Both benchmark contracts settled up more than 3% on Thursday ​and jumped $5 a barrel after reports that air defences were engaging targets over Tehran ​and of a power struggle between Iran’s hardliners and moderates.

US President Donald ⁠Trump said that Iran may have loaded up its weaponry “a little bit” during the two-week ​ceasefire, but added that the U.S. military could eliminate it in just a single day.

The ceasefire ​phase is increasingly looking like a preparatory phase for war, Haitong Futures said in a report.

If US-Iran talks fail to make key progress by the end of April and fighting resumes, oil prices could ​climb to new highs for the year, it added.

Iran on Thursday posted video of ​commandos in a speedboat storming a huge cargo ship after the collapse of peace talks, underlining its grip over ‌the ⁠Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of global oil and gas usually flows.

As investors and governments around the world look for an enduring peace, Trump said he would not set a “timetable” for ending the conflict with Iran and that he wanted to make “a great deal.”

“Don’t rush ​me,” he said when ​asked how long ⁠he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran.

Prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push global crude and ​refined-product inventories below five-year seasonal lows by late May or early ​June, adding ⁠a supply-risk premium back into oil prices, said Mingyu Gao, chief researcher for energy and chemicals at China Futures.

Trump also announced in a social media post on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon ⁠had ​agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after a ​high-level meeting between representatives of both countries in the White House Oval Office.

Before that announcement, Israel warned that it ​was ready to restart attacks on Iran.