Oil prices continue to fall.
Brent crude fell 3.6% to $94.00 a barrel after Qatar's prime minister went to the White House with Iran's proposal for an interim deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The price of WTI crude oil fell by 3% to 88.09 dollars. This continued Brent's 16% decline last week, the sharpest weekly decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to anonymous sources, Iran approved the terms reached through the mediation of Qatar. Tehran will open the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf. Washington will lift the naval and economic blockade on Iran and release $8 billion in Iranian funds frozen in Qatar. Under the terms, Iran waives demands to control the strait and collect transit fees, but still refuses to discuss its nuclear program.
Neither administration has approved the terms, and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are reportedly opposed to such a deal.
Trump said yesterday that renewed US strikes on Iran are "highly unlikely" if talks lead to a sustainable deal. Rubio called Iran's demands "outrageous and ridiculous" and said the two sides were far from a breakthrough. The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Argachi, said that Iran's offer to open the Strait of Hormuz within two days remains valid, subject to the end of the war on all fronts.