Oil prices softened ahead of a second round of US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva that could reshape the geopolitical risk premium built into crude. Brent eased toward USD 68 per barrel as markets weighed the prospect of future sanctions relief against persistent regional tensions. At the same time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard conducted military drills near the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint through which roughly one fifth of global oil flows, highlighting continued supply sensitivity.

For tanker markets, the evolving diplomatic backdrop introduces two-sided risk. Any meaningful easing of sanctions could eventually return incremental Iranian barrels to the seaborne market, while ongoing security tensions around the Strait of Hormuz continue to underpin transit risk and freight volatility. In the near term, uncertainty surrounding policy direction and regional stability is likely to keep a geopolitical premium embedded in crude tanker earnings.