Senior Iranian Officials say that Iran is prolonging talks with the US to try and weaken US President Trump's politically ahead of the midterms, Reuters reports citing sources

Senior Iranian Officials say that Iran is prolonging talks with the US to try and weaken US President Trump's politically ahead of the midterms, Reuters reports citing sources.

Source-attributed claims of negotiating intent are a recurring feature of US-Iran engagement and have historically carried more signal about the state of the talks than about any single party's strategy; the read-across in past episodes has been that a counterparty perceived to be stalling reduces the near-term probability of a deal, which is what matters for the sanctions-relief supply timeline embedded in crude. The channel that has typically mattered is the Iranian barrels question: expectations of restored exports weigh on Brent and WTI through the forward supply balance, so evidence of deliberate delay supports the risk premium rather than removing it. The domestic-politics framing, talks timed against an electoral calendar, is also familiar; negotiating positions on both sides have historically hardened in the run-up to votes, and headlines of this kind have tended to fade unless followed by an actual breakdown, walkout, or scheduling of a further round. Worth watching is whether official channels confirm or deny the characterisation, whether the next round of talks slips, and any movement in the freight, insurance, and dark-fleet segments where sanctions enforcement actually bites. As single-source reporting of unnamed officials, the item sits at the softer end of the credibility scale and has historically moved energy and haven assets only modestly without corroboration.