Oil crashes back to $92 as U.S.-Iran diplomacy wipes out nearly 8% in a week

Oil took another beating Friday as talks between Iran and the United States returned to the market’s radar. West Texas Intermediate crude sank 2.3% to $92.41 a barrel, pushing its weekly loss to 7.9%.

Brent crude also fell 2.1% to $104.32, though the global benchmark finished the full week roughly flat. Iran has put a new offer on the table. Tehran said it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if Washington carries out the terms of an interim peace agreement reached in June.

The waterway has been at the heart of the conflict because it is a major route for global energy shipments.

The June deal did not survive for long. Fighting returned after both sides clashed over transit rights through Hormuz, and Iran has not detailed how its latest proposal would stop the same dispute from starting another round of hostilities.

Iran offers to reopen Hormuz as Washington considers Tehran’s latest deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters at the U.N. on Thursday that Tehran would resume negotiations toward a permanent agreement once Washington meets the conditions contained in the earlier memorandum of understanding.

Iran is now waiting for an American response. Araghchi also put the possible timing against the U.S. political calendar.

“I think it would be much better if it is done before the midterm election, but it depends on the U.S. administration to decide,” Araghchi said. “We are not in a hurry.”

The diplomatic push comes while Iranian oil exports remain heavily restricted. Reuters reported on September 1, citing tanker-monitoring companies including TankerTrackers, that there had been no major Iranian crude cargo moving through Hormuz toward China for about seven weeks.

At the same time, millions of Iranian barrels are moving in the opposite direction.

TankerTrackers reported on September 24, 2026, that almost 6 million barrels of confiscated Iranian crude were crossing the Atlantic on their way to the United States. The cargo is estimated to be worth around $600 million.

The tracking company said the barrels were being transferred “quietly” to America. It did not disclose how many ships were involved. It also withheld the vessels’ identities and the final ports expected to receive all of the shipments.

One tanker is already known.

Majestic X holds around 1.88 million barrels of Iranian oil valued at approximately $200 million. Previously reported media outlets have identified that the arrested ship was headed towards Texas.

The ship has a story of its own. Majestic X had been renamed from Phoenix and is currently unregistered in any country. It was apprehended by the United States in the Indian Ocean in April on its way to China.

Seized Iranian barrels move toward Texas while U.S. drillers add more rigs

New maritime data reviewed by Voice of America showed Majestic X and another tanker, Tifani, traveling from waters close to the South American coastline toward Galveston, Texas.

Another vessel, Skyview, remains in Asian waters. The ship is carrying Iranian crude that the United States confiscated earlier this spring. Reports released in May had already detailed Skyview’s seizure and its role in moving Iranian barrels.

Several tankers linked with the crude oil export from Iran have been seized by the U.S. in the Indian Ocean this spring. The U.S. Department of Defense earlier confirmed that naval operations targeting networks violating sanctions will be conducted. The Department also added that the international water does not constitute a haven for such vessels.

Neither the U.S. government nor officials from the Islamic Republic had responded to the newest report about the nearly 6 million barrels heading toward America when the information was published.

U.S. domestic drilling numbers moved higher at the same time.

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) reported Friday that American producers added three oil rigs during the week ending September 25.

That pushed the nationwide oil rig count to 455.

The number is often tracked as a gauge for drilling and possible oil production. The current number represents an increase of 31 oil rigs compared to the same time last year.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.