NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices climbed on Thursday on the potential new U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The Donald Trump administration has said it will withdraw the United States from the nuclear deal by May 12 if it cannot reach an agreement with European partners to toughen the terms of the accord.

Iran's foreign minister has said that U.S. demands to change its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers were unacceptable, according to CNBC.

Investors worried that if sanctions are reinstated, that could contribute to tighter global oil inventories.

On the data front, crude stockpiles posted a surprise build of 6.2 million barrels in the week, according to the weekly report by Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery added 0.50 U.S. dollar to settle at 68.43 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery increased 0.26 dollar to close at 73.62 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem