Oil Prices Ease Amid Iran Sanctions and Export Threats
Oil prices dipped slightly on Globex Monday as Iran-related headlines flooded the wire. The move follows a strong week for crude, which posted its second consecutive weekly gain of around 5 to 6 percent with Brent trading near $94 and WTI near $87 as of Friday's close.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to announce what he calls the toughest sanctions in history on Iran at a press conference Monday afternoon. In response, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that if economic pressure continues, Iran would halt all oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Persian Gulf.
Rezaei also accused President Trump of increasing global interest in nuclear weapons by his strikes on Iran. He argued that this has created nuclear insecurity rather than security, and suggested Tehran might reconsider its non-nuclear posture as a result.