Oil prices tumbled on Monday as the United States and Iran paused their escalating strikes to make “space” for diplomacy.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The two sides halted fire over the weekend, following 13 consecutive nights of attacks that shattered their deal to end the war and threatened new pain for the global economy.International benchmark Brent crude oil sank to below $90 a barrel Monday morning, while U.S.
crude dropped to around $83 a barrel — both down around 7%.Global markets were also mostly higher, with U.S.
stock futures up.The renewed optimism follows mounting fears of a return to all-out war across the Middle East, as the battle for control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz expanded to the Red Sea, another key waterway for global trade.President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was considering a “massive attack” to try and break Iran’s grip on the strait, but since then the U.S.and Iran have refrained from attacks for three days.Jordan, a key U.S.
ally, said it downed two drones early Monday, though it was not clear who launched them.U.S.Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the decision to halt strikes came in response to ongoing talks between the two sides.
“What the president is doing right now, as we’ve seen all along, is giving some talks some space,” he said, adding that talks were “ongoing,” but that there was “internal fighting” on the Iranian side.Walz dismissed reporting that U.S.
weapons stockpiles are depleted.Still, Tehran offered limited hope for any ramped up peace efforts.“Mediators may convey messages from the American side to us concerning regional developments, but at the present time we have no negotiations with the American side,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday at a news conference.He said Tehran would “never allow America to determine the ti...