U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of making "absurd and ridiculous" demands, as efforts to achieve a lasting solution to the Middle East conflict seem to have stalled.

Rubio said in an interview with reporters on Sunday evening in Florida that before traveling to Paris to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, there was still a significant gap between the two sides in the negotiations. Previously, Tehran had proposed shortening the timeline for resuming negotiations from 7 days to 2 days.

Rubio said that President Trump prefers to "resolve this matter and every issue through diplomatic means," but he added, "Unfortunately, sometimes that is not possible."

Energy prices fell in the early trading on Monday after Trump stated on Sunday that it was "highly unlikely" to take further actions against certain entities if negotiations progressed towards a strong agreement.

As of 5:25 a.m. Eastern Time, international crude oil benchmark Brent crude fell by 0.75% to $97.58 per barrel. Meanwhile, December-delivered West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell by 0.42% to $90.45 per barrel.

Before Rubio made the aforementioned remarks, Trump stated in an interview with CNN that as long as negotiations to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz could progress, it was unlikely that the conflict, which has lasted for over eight months, would escalate again.

Rubio said, "I wouldn't say we're close to a breakthrough. As of now, the progress isn't significant, because Iran's demands are not only unacceptable but also in some cases absurd, ridiculous, and highly unrealistic."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said on Monday that Tehran hopes the United States will lift sanctions and end wars on all fronts before negotiations begin.