LIVE | Trump sees an agreement with Iran 'very possible' after holding 'very good talks in the last 24 hours'

Optimism unleashed at the prospect of Washington and Tehran reaching a deal that would end the war in the Middle East kept oil prices trending lower on Thursday.

Although the decline has nothing to do with Wednesday's plunge, both Brent and West Texas Intermediate barrels remain below $100. After early European trading hours, the world benchmark price was at $98.94, while the U.S. benchmark WTI was falling to $92.70.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is "prepared for all scenarios" vis-à-vis Iran after Donald Trump said there is a chance of reaching a peace deal.

"We are (...) prepared for all scenarios, and those are the instructions I have given to the army and our security services," Netanyahu said.

U.S. President, Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal with Iran to end the war in the Middle East is "very possible" after "very good talks" in the last 24 hours.

"We've had very good talks in the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll get a deal," Trump said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday he had met with the country's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March, but Pezeshkian did not say when their meeting took place.

"What impressed me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution," Pezeshkian said in a video broadcast on state television.

Khamenei, reportedly wounded in attacks on the first day of the Middle East war that claimed the life of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, has only issued written statements since his appointment.

French President Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Wednesday that attacks on civilian infrastructure and Emirati vessels near the Strait of Hormuz were "unjustified."

"I expressed my deep concern about the ongoing escalation and condemned the unjustified attacks on Emirati civilian infrastructure and several ships," Macron said in X after the conversation.

The Holy See delegation to the U.N. reaffirmed the value of multilateralism and international cooperation in the development of civilian nuclear technologies, reiterating the contribution that nuclear-weapon-free zones can make to the stability of various regional contexts and supporting ongoing initiatives to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

Only through respect for international norms and obligations, the Vatican statement concludes, the peaceful use of nuclear energy can truly promote trust between states and the building of a more peaceful and secure world.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, clashed with the Iranian delegation over the resolution Washington is promoting before the Security Council of the transnational body concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

From Tehran they described the proposal as "politically motivated" by the Trump Administration to impose its point of view and support its "illegal actions," which provoked a forceful response from the diplomat:

"The Iranian regime wants to undermine an international waterway, attack merchant ships, charge illegal tolls, block humanitarian aid, and then accuse the U.S. of acting out of "political motives" for asking the U.N. to force them to cease."

The U.S. proposal to end the war is "under study," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday, quoted by local media.

"The U.S. plan and proposal are still under study," Esmail Baqai told the ISNA news agency. He added that Tehran will convey its views to Pakistan, mediator in the crisis, once it has set "its position."

A top commander of Hezbollah's elite unit was killed in an Israeli bombardment Wednesday on the southern outskirts of Beirut, a source close to the pro-Iranian Shiite terror group told AFP.

"Mallek Ballout, commander of the Al Radwan force operations," was killed, the source said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier that his forces had targeted "the commander of the Al Radwan force."

Israeli attacks in eastern and southern Lebanon have left 11 dead, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The Israeli army reported four soldiers wounded on Wednesday, one of them seriously, in southern Lebanon, according to a military statement issued Thursday.