Trump's Meeting with Iran Sends Oil Prices Plummeting
A high-stakes meeting between US President Trump's negotiators and Iran's delegation at the UN has led to a significant drop in oil prices. After a three-hour, closed-door session, crude sank to $98.23 a barrel on Tuesday, down 2.1% on the day, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.55% to $90.01.
No new supply came online and no OPEC statement moved the market, but traders reacted swiftly to Trump's optimistic words about a potential deal. The President said he believes 'we will make a deal right after the election', which markets parsed as a timeline rather than optimism.
Iran's war has kept gasoline above $4 a gallon for much of 2026, and traders have priced in the chance that fighting spreads to the Strait of Hormuz. Any credible signal that the conflict is winding down gets a fast repricing of that risk.
The diplomatic thaw isn't the only thing pulling oil down, Iran has signalled it could reopen the Strait within seven days, while Saudi Arabia is racing to restart its East-West pipeline and resume exports from its Red Sea port at Yanbu. This combination has led WTI to fall harder than Brent on Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is running a separate track entirely, meeting with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York to discuss an economic campaign aimed at cutting off Iran's economic lifelines.