Markets Rally on Hopes of US-Iran Ceasefire Deal as Trump Rejects Rush

Markets rallied amid hopes of a ceasefire deal between the US and Iran, with the US stock market hovering near record highs and oil prices plunging as negotiations continued between Washington and Tehran.

“Iranian State TV has released details of what it said is in a possible Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and U”

ABC News

Al Jazeera reported that oil prices declined after Iran’s state broadcaster said it had obtained a preliminary document outlining a framework for a potential deal, and it said US crude fell 5.5 percent to settle at $88.68 while Brent crude decreased to $92 after prices traded above $100 last week.

ABC News

The same Al Jazeera account said the report suggested Iran would allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at pre-war levels within 30 days and that the US would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports, but it added that prices remained subdued even after the White House dismissed the report as a “complete fabrication”.

CNN, meanwhile, said President Donald Trump told reporters he won’t be rushed into a deal and warned that Iran’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because he doesn’t “care about the midterms.”

CNN also said the White House described the Iranian state television memorandum of understanding report as untrue, while negotiations continued and markets weighed whether any agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels.

As talks proceeded, CNN said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told ships belonging to “hostile countries” they were prohibited from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while IRGC framed the Persian Gulf as belonging to “the Muslim nations of the region.”

CNN also reported that Iran said 23 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz under its “security protection” over the past 24 hours, citing the Mehr News Agency, though it added that ship-tracking services could not confirm that number because vessels often turn off AIS transponders.

Al Jazeera

In the same reporting, the White House dismissed the Iranian state television framework report as a “complete fabrication,” and CNN quoted the Rapid Response account’s insistence that “FACTS MATTER.”

The Guardian, covering the cabinet meeting, said Rubio told reporters there has been “some progress” made between the US and Iran towards reaching a deal, while also warning that Trump has “other options available ... if that doesn’t work”.

The Guardian further quoted Trump threatening that “Oman will behave just like everybody else. Or else we’ll have to blow them up,” as he described the Strait of Hormuz as open to everybody and said the US would “watch over it.”

The dispute over the deal framework played out alongside renewed violence, with BBC saying Iran condemned US strikes as a “gross violation” of the ceasefire and quoting Iran’s foreign ministry blaming the US for consequences of “aggressive and unjustified actions” in the Hormozgan region.

BBC reported that Centcom said US forces “conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today” to protect troops from threats posed by Iranian forces, while Iran said it would not leave “any evil unanswered” and would “not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation.”

In parallel, NPR said the prospect of an imminent agreement faded as Israel said it was intensifying attacks in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah and the US military struck Iranian boats and missile launch sites, with U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins saying Iran’s boats were “attempting to emplace mines” and the military acted in “self-defense.”

NPR also said negotiators continued talks in Qatar to broker a deal that would end the hostilities, and it quoted Rubio saying negotiating a deal to end the war in Iran could “take a few days.”

CBS News added that Iran accused the US of a “grave violation” of the ceasefire after the US said it carried out “self-defense strikes,” while it also quoted Mohammad Akbarzadeh saying “The possibility of war is low because of the enemy's weakness.”