Oil prices jump as US-Iran tensions flare and US troops leave Iraq
Brent crude rose about 4% to just over $107 a barrel after Donald Trump’s contradictory statements and the US announced the final withdrawal of its forces from Iraq.
After Donald Trump announced that the United States fully controls the Strait of Hormuz, he later dismissed Iran’s new UN proposal to halt attacks and reopen the waterway, prompting Brent crude to climb roughly 4% to $107 a barrel. Iran’s foreign minister had earlier said Tehran would reopen the strait within a week if the US ended its and Israel’s offensive actions across the Middle East and lifted naval and economic sanctions.
The US president also hinted at possible renewed bombing of Iran after the upcoming November elections. In Iraq, officials confirmed the quiet departure of the last American soldiers, concluding a 23-year presence following a 2024 withdrawal agreement. The oil market’s strain was compounded by Houthi drone attacks on Saudi facilities and Saudi aerial bombardments in Yemen, which resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries, including children.
Why it matters
The story links rising oil prices to shifting US-Iran dynamics and the end of a long-standing US military footprint in Iraq.
How this story developed
- Sep 14 Trump says United States remains open to talks with Iran to end war
- Sep 23 Indirect negotiations between U.S. envoys and Iran’s foreign minister began in New York.
- Sep 24 US and Iranian negotiators in New York are discussing a step-by-step plan that would see Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the United States ends its economic blockade, though both sides cling to leverage.
- Sep 24 The Senate voted down the war‑powers resolution.
- Sep 25 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New York, the first Iranian head of state to set foot in the United States.
- Sep 25 President Donald Trump signaled interest in a deal before the midterm elections.
- Sep 26 Iran awaited an official U.S. reply to its UN‑transmitted peace initiative.
- Sep 26 US President Donald Trump says he rejects Iran’s proposal of a seven‑day roadmap to end the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
- Sep 27 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will remain resolute and not retreat despite President Donald Trump's rejection of Iran’s seven‑day ceasefire and Strait of Hormuz reopening proposal.
- Sep 27 President Trump dismissed Iran's proposal and no formal U.S. reply has been transmitted through mediators.
- Sep 27 Iran's foreign minister says Tehran is waiting for a US reply, via mediators, to its offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington ends hostilities and releases frozen assets.
- Sep 27 Iran’s foreign minister warned Tehran could restart war over frozen assets.
- Sep 29 President Trump said U.S. negotiators will resume talks with Iran this week after rejecting Tehran's proposal.
- Sep 29 Araghchi announced he will depart for Tehran within hours after the New York meeting.
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