Iran refuses talks until US lifts sanctions, escalating tensions amid ongoing conflict and diplomatic standoff.

Brent crude prices hit a five month high, peaking at $114.72 a barrel as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens regime change in Iran. On Thursday, oil giant Saudi Aramco also ordered the evacuation of its headquarters near Bahrain.

The US is moving some diplomats and families out of Lebanon, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan, CNN reported. Axios said intelligence on alleged Iranian assassination plots helped prompt the staffing reductions.

Seven months after the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran, the Iranian president stood on a podium in New York to tell President Donald Trump that the Islamic Republic “will not bow down.

By Georgina McCartney HOUSTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled down after touching a five-month high on Tuesday as traders weighed a meeting between the Iranian president and Pakistan's army chief,