Oil prices nosedived Monday after President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were underway and that he would delay attacking Iranian energy facilities while those talks progress.
Trump made the early morning announcement on Truth Social.
According to Reuters, Brent crude futures were down 10 percent while the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate dipped almost 9 percent.
The war has meant that between 7 million and 10 million barrels of oil per day are not reaching the global energy marketplace, experts have said.
Comments from Trump indicating that there is an ongoing attempt at a settlement lifted the stock market, according to NBC News.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 3 percent each in early morning trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by about 850 points early Monday morning.
Trump told CNBC that “we are very intent on making a deal with Iran.”
Although Iranian state media said no talks were underway, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo said Trump dismissed that comment.
“When I asked about the Iranian TV saying that no talks have happened, he said, ‘It’s hard to get any information there, because … the U.S. is blowing up so much of their infrastructure,’” Bartiromo said.
According to the Guardian, Trump said the U.S. was talking to “a top person.”
“Don’t forget: We’ve wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three,” he said.
“But we’re dealing with a man who I believe is the most respected and the leader, you know, it’s a little tough, they’ve wiped out — we’ve wiped out everybody,” he said.
Trump said the U.S. was not dealing with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named to the top leadership spot after his father was killed in the opening round of the war.
“We have not heard from the son. Every once in a while you’ll see a statement made – but we don’t know if he’s living,” Trump said.
Trump said that amid the talks, the Strait of Hormuz could be “open very soon,” according to NBC News.
Trump said the strait would be “jointly controlled.”
When asked who would oversee the vital waterway, he replied, “Maybe me — me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah.”
Trump predicted “a very serious form of a regime change” in Iran.
“There’s automatically a regime change, but we’re dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid,” he said. “The people within know who they are. They’re very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we’re looking for.”
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