Oil prices stayed near six-month highs on Friday after United States President Donald Trump warned Iran of “really bad things” if no nuclear deal is reached.

Brent crude for April delivery dipped 0.2 per cent to $71.53 per barrel by 9:24 a.m. London time (4:24 a.m. ET), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate March futures fell 0.2 per cent to $66.30, trimming earlier gains.

Both benchmarks had hit six-month settlement highs in the previous session amid ongoing concerns over Middle East supply risks.

The U.S. and Iran held talks in Switzerland this week to resolve their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. Early signs of progress, however, were followed by Washington accusing Iran of failing to meet key U.S. demands.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday, President Trump warned that “bad things will happen” if Tehran does not reach a deal.

“They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region and they must make a deal, or if that doesn’t happen — maybe you can understand if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, but bad things will happen if it doesn’t,” Trump said on Thursday.

This follows a major U.S. military buildup in the Middle East and reports that the White House is considering new action against Tehran as soon as this weekend.

President Trump said Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “totally decimated” by U.S. strikes on its facilities in June last year, adding, “we may have to take it a step further or we may not,” without providing further details.

Meanwhile, Iran reportedly told U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday that it would respond “decisively” to any military aggression.