Brent Slips Below $100 as Iran Sets Terms to Reopen Hormuz
Iran can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The terms have two parts: the U.S. eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. The official said Washington needs to state officially that it wants a diplomatic resolution, then agree on a timeline.
Tehran's proposal was delivered through mediators on September 16. Iran's delegation to the U.N. General Assembly is in New York with full authority to negotiate.
Oil opened the day higher. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in the morning that all Iranian airlines would be shut down as soon as Wednesday: anyone providing fuel, landing services or tickets would be cut out of the dollar system. Brent rose 1.2% to $101.58 on that.
Then the Hormuz report landed and the direction changed. At 7:15 a.m. ET (2:15 p.m. in Istanbul), Brent was down 1.8% at $98.56 and U.S. crude down 2.3% at $93.60. The loss widened to 2.6% as the morning went on.
The market did not read Bessent's threat as a supply risk.
It read it as an opening bid.
For Brent, that means a handle below $100. Friday's close was $103.87 and Monday's was $100.37.
Monday's session was a different story. Meta's new AI agent Muse passed 2.5 million downloads and briefly topped 's U.S. App Store. The stock gained 11.34%.
