Traders work on the NYSE floor
Stocks fell on Monday as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue. Oil prices rose. AFP

Stocks declined on Monday as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue running high. Oil prices climbed as well.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.29%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.46%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, ending the session 0.51% in the red.

In contrast, Brent crude climbed more than 2% and rose back above $90 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate posted a similar gain and stood over $83.50 a barrel at the same time.

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The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Monday that Iranian leadership is taking steps to widen the war with the U.S. and Israel.

Citing Arab intelligence officials, the outlet claimed that Tehran is seeing a "strategic shift" and have begun taking steps to "get their forces ready to widen the war."

The steps include ramping up drone and missile production, as well as conversations with proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon to escalate conflicts elsewhere in the region.

One example was the providing of a list of Saudi targets to Yemen's Houthi rebels, the report added. The Iranian revolutionary guard has also sent neighbors a list of energy facilities that it said will strike if hostilities escalate again.

There are no clear signs that diplomacy will prevail. Iran has most recently said the fact the deadline to reach a deal with the U.S. as part of the memorandum of understanding the countries reached earlier this year is "irrelevant" given renewed hostilities.

"The 60-day discussion is no longer relevant," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said, according to remarks published by state-run news agency IRNA.

Baqaei went on to say the period was set to kick off negotiations over the "nuclear issue" and the "lifting of sanctions," but that has not been the case because the U.S. violated the terms and prevented them from taking place.

President Donald Trump, on his end, said there is a backchannel for peace talks but Iran "should put up the white flag of surrender." "I have no time schedule," Trump told Fox News' Trey Ingst on Monday. "They're good poker players, but they're dying," he added.

The Trump administration is focusing on economic pressure, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying last week that the U.S. will apply economic measures "that have never been seen on Iran."