Energy markets kept pricing out the Iran war on Tuesday as President Donald Trump played down the chance of new strikes, while his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, came out swinging against an impeachment push over the conflict.
MoneyTurkey Politics Desk | 10 November 2026
Key points
- Trump said after White House talks with Qatar’s prime minister that new strikes on Iran were “quite unlikely” and the war could end “fairly soon”.
- Brent briefly fell below $90 a barrel for the first time since late August, and Europe’s benchmark gas price slipped to a one-month low.
- Hegseth called articles of impeachment filed by Republican Representative Thomas Massie “a farce and a stunt”.
What happened
Trump met Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House on Monday. Afterwards he said the US was “locked and loaded” but that there would likely be no reason to use that force because talks with Tehran were “going very well”. He kept the door open to resuming strikes if circumstances changed.
The fighting has not stopped. Al Jazeera reports that US attacks on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm island have been a daily occurrence, which Trump described on Saturday as “minor strikes” on air defences and launchers. Iran has responded by downing US aircraft and controlling shipping in the waterway.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the war would not end through military means or more sanctions, only through “the language of respect”. A day earlier, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had hinted at openness to talks. Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei still accused Washington of spreading “fake news” about negotiations and repeated Tehran’s conditions, including an end to the US naval blockade.
Hegseth hits back
In his first Pentagon press briefing in nearly six months, Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort as “a farce and a stunt” and said no defense secretary had ever been impeached “for carrying out lawful military operations”. Massie, an outgoing Kentucky Republican, accuses him of waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation and of breaching the War Powers Resolution, among other charges, The Guardian reported.
What it means for markets
Brent dropped as low as about $89.15 a barrel on Tuesday morning before paring losses, as traders took out more of the war premium, CNBC and Reuters reported. Europe’s benchmark Dutch gas price slipped to its lowest in a month, Investing.com and Engie’s EnergyScan said, though supplies from the Gulf remain disrupted and European storage is low for the time of year.
The war’s cost is still showing up in company results. Emirates said on 5 November that its first-half profit after tax fell 66% to $903 million as airspace closures and higher fuel costs hit the airline.
Why it matters
Analysts say the Republican defeat in last week’s midterm elections has raised the political price of escalation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, set to become speaker in January, said Democrats would “end the war in Iran one way or the other”. Qatar’s mediation is also pushing the two sides together, Negar Mortazavi of the Center for International Policy told Al Jazeera.
The nuclear file remains the sticking point. Iran says it is still committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but the only site open to UN inspectors is the Bushehr power plant. Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group called the Bushehr access “a low-cost gesture” that keeps diplomacy alive while Tehran keeps leverage over its underground sites.
What to watch
- Whether Trump keeps new strikes off the table, or moves on the underground Pickaxe Mountain site he has threatened
- A House vote on Massie’s impeachment articles
- Any IAEA access to Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan
- Qatar’s next round of shuttle talks between Washington and Tehran
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For information only. Not investment advice.
Sources
- Al Jazeera: ‘Positive momentum’: Is the US war on Iran about to end?
- Al Jazeera: Iran backs nuclear treaty even as hardliners raise prospect of bomb
- The Guardian: Hegseth lays it on thick for Trump to shave off fallout from Iran war
- The Wall Street Journal: U.S., Iran exchange strikes on islands as they fight for control of strait
- CNBC: Trump says Iran war to end ‘fairly soon,’ plays down prospects of new strikes
- CNBC: Brent crude dips below $90 for first time since August on Iran hopes
- The Korea Times (Reuters): Oil prices hit 2-month lows as US downplays further Iran strikes
- Investing.com: European gas prices hit 1-month lows as Trump pauses Iran strikes
- Engie EnergyScan: Oil and gas slide as the Iran war premium fades
- Emirates: Emirates Group announces half-year results for 2026-27
- The National: Emirates airline posts $903m in half-year profit despite regional disruption
