Oil drops 4.6% on report Iran offered $8bn Hormuz deal

Brent crude dropped 4.6% on Monday after a report said Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for $8 billion in frozen assets held in Qatar. By midday the price had fallen from above $98 a barrel to below $94.

The proposed arrangement, brokered through Doha, would have Tehran halt attacks on Gulf tankers and open the strait. In return, Washington would lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and release the frozen funds. Nuclear issues are not on the table.

Qatar disputed it. A Qatari official told Bloomberg the report was false and that negotiations remain ongoing. Neither Iran nor the United States confirmed the specific terms.

Within the Trump administration, Vice President JD Vance is said to back pursuing the arrangement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both oppose it. Trump meets Qatar's prime minister on Monday, with Doha acting as the central go-between in the discussions.

Previous attempts have broken down. A similar memorandum agreed in Switzerland in May 2026 collapsed after Iranian forces struck oil tankers in the strait. Energy consultancies rate the chances of a durable deal as low. When Iran declared the strait closed in late October, more than 500 ships were waiting to transit.

Iran last formally offered to reopen the waterway before this week, though those talks also stalled. At the time two tankers caught fire as Tehran put a deal offer on the table, Washington rejected the terms.

The disruption has drawn in navies from outside the region. Earlier this week South Korea moved its anti-piracy patrol unit 650 km closer to the strait, expanding its operational reach in response to the ongoing conflict.