Oil Falls to $94 as Iran’s Hormuz Deal Proposal Heads to Washington
Brent crude fell 3.6% to $94.00 a barrel on Monday, November 9, 2026, as Qatar's prime minister took an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to the White House. Neither government has confirmed the terms, which include $8 billion in frozen funds.
Oil sinks to $94 as Iran's proposed Hormuz deal heads to the White House: Brent crude fell 3.6% to $94.00 per barrel on Monday, November 9, 2026, as Qatar's prime minister traveled to Washington with an Iranian proposal for an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
West Texas Intermediate, the main U.S. benchmark, dropped 3% to $88.09. U.S. natural gas rose 0.8% to $3.02 per million British thermal units as of 7:26 a.m. ET.
Brent has now fallen sharply for two stretches in a row. Last week's 16% slide was the benchmark's steepest weekly fall since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
What the proposal contains
Iran has signed off on the Qatari-brokered terms, according to two diplomatic sources who spoke to Israeli media. Tehran would reopen Hormuz and halt attacks on Gulf tankers.
Washington would lift its naval and economic blockade of Iran. It would also release $8 billion in Iranian funds frozen in Qatar.
Iran would drop its demand to control the strait and charge transit fees. It still refuses to put its nuclear program on the table.
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 along these lines.
Mixed signals from Washington and Tehran
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that renewed U.S. strikes on Iran are "highly unlikely" if negotiations produce a strong agreement. Rubio, speaking in Florida the same day, called Iran's demands "outrageous and ridiculous" and said the two sides are not close to a breakthrough.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran's offer to reopen Hormuz within two days stands. His condition is that the war ends on all fronts.
Attacks continue
Shipping through Hormuz came under fire again over the weekend. Washington and Tehran both reported attacks on vessels in or near the strait.
The Iran-aligned Houthis claimed a strike on Saudi Aramco's offices in Riyadh on Sunday. Murban crude, the physical Gulf benchmark, climbed 3.4% to $99.17 in Asian trading.
Talks have failed before. A similar U.S.-Iran memorandum reached in Switzerland in May collapsed after an Iranian attack on oil tankers in the strait.
