Brent Falls to $94 as Iran Hormuz Proposal Reaches White House

West Texas Intermediate fell 3% to $88.09, while U.S. natural gas rose 0.8% to $3.02 per million British thermal units as of 7:26 a.m. ET. Brent’s decline followed a 16% drop last week, its steepest weekly loss since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Murban crude, the physical Gulf benchmark, moved in the opposite direction, gaining 3.4% to $99.17 in Asian trading.

Two diplomatic sources cited by Israeli media said Iran had approved terms brokered by Qatar. Under the reported proposal, Tehran would reopen Hormuz and stop attacks on Gulf tankers, while Washington would lift its naval and economic blockade and release $8 billion in Iranian funds frozen in Qatar. Iran would give up demands to control the strait and charge transit fees, but would not discuss its nuclear program. Neither government has confirmed the terms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reportedly oppose a deal of this kind.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that renewed U.S. strikes on Iran were “highly unlikely” if negotiations produced a strong agreement. Rubio, speaking in Florida that day, called Iran’s demands “outrageous and ridiculous” and said the countries were not close to a breakthrough. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran’s offer to reopen Hormuz within two days remained in place, provided the war ended on all fronts.

Attacks on vessels in or near the strait were reported by both Washington and Tehran over the weekend. The Iran-aligned Houthis also claimed a strike on Saudi Aramco’s offices in Riyadh on Sunday. A similar U.S.-Iran memorandum reached in Switzerland in May fell apart after an Iranian attack on oil tankers in the strait.