Oil prices plummeted and Wall Street stocks surged on Wednesday after President Trump pointed to “great progress” toward reaching a peace that ends the U.S. war with Iran. The price of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, dropped nearly 12% to below $100 per barrel. Dow Futures surged 500 points on hopes the conflict, which began Feb. 28, could be reaching its end. Market optimism followed Mr. Trump’s announcement late Tuesday that he would pause Project Freedom, an effort to free ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, upon the request of Pakistani mediators. He said a blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place, although “Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.” Mr. Trump says any deal must ensure that Tehran is unable to obtain a nuclear weapon. Efforts at reaching a deal, however, have faltered at times. Pakistan’s mediators thanked Mr. Trump for his “courageous leadership and timely announcement.” “We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said. As negotiations ramp up, Iran faces economic pressure to end the war as it struggles to export oil under Mr. Trump’s blockade. Mr. Trump faces pressure at home in the form of higher gas prices. The national average price of a gallon of gas reached $4.54 on Wednesday, up from $4.23 a week ago and around $3 per gallon at the start of the war. • Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at [email protected]. Copyright © 2026 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. Please read our comment policy before commenting.
Oil prices plummeted and Wall Street stocks surged on Wednesday after President Trump pointed to “great progress” toward reaching a peace that ends the U.S. war with Iran. The price of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, dropped nearly 12% to below $100 per barrel. Dow F…
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International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.