A weekend ceasefire in strikes, ending a 13-night streak of attacks, sent Brent crude below $90 a barrel Monday
A weekend halt in hostilities between Washington and Tehran, undertaken to create an opening for diplomacy, sent oil prices tumbling roughly 7% Monday, with Brent crude slipping under $90 a barrel and U.S. crude settling near $83 a barrel.
Equity markets responded positively around the world, with Nasdaq $NDAQ 100 futures up 1.4% and S&P 500 futures adding 1%, according to NBC News. Treasury yields edged down but held close to their highest point since early 2025.
Appearing on NBC News' "Meet the Press," UN Ambassador Mike Waltz attributed the suspension of strikes to active diplomacy between the two countries. "What the president is doing right now, as we've seen all along, is giving some talks some space," he said, also noting "internal fighting" within Iran even as discussions continued at the highest levels of both governments.
Tehran was far more guarded in its characterization of the situation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, speaking at a Monday news conference, said that while intermediaries might pass along American messages on regional matters, Iran was not engaged in direct talks with Washington at this time, according to NBC News. He also insisted the Strait of Hormuz was "closed."
Crude had topped $100 a barrel in the prior week as the conflict spread from the Strait of Hormuz into the Red Sea. NBC News's review of MarineTraffic data showed that shipping through Hormuz over the Friday-to-Sunday window amounted to just 29 confirmed transits, while the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint saw considerably more activity, logging 100 crossings in the same span.
Despite Trump's earlier warning of a "massive attack" on Iran, neither side carried out strikes for three straight days. The president had signaled last week that military action and diplomacy were running on parallel tracks, telling reporters gathered at the White House, "We're talking to them," according to NBC News.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran's willingness to stand down was contingent on Washington doing the same, and that most within Iran's leadership saw the pause as "tactical rather than genuine."
More on this story: June Iran cease-fire breaks down, reviving strikes and Hormuz tensions
Update, July 28, 2026: Iran's primary condition for any resolution is U.S. recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz, a concession Washington has so far refused to grant. (per The New York Times)
