Oil Prices Plunge 13% as Donald Trump Delays Threat to 'Obliterate' Iran Power Plants

Donald Trump announced on Monday morning that he had ordered the Department of War to postpone all military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, following what he described as 'very good and productive' talks with Tehran — a declaration that sent Brent crude tumbling 13% to $96 a barrel and offered global markets their first meaningful reprieve since the conflict erupted three weeks ago.

The news came after Trump issued one of his most alarming ultimatums yet on Saturday night, posting to Truth Social at 11:44 p.m. to warn Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without conditions within 48 hours or face US strikes on its power plants, starting with the largest. The deadline, set to expire at 11:44 p.m. on Monday, had already sent Asian stocks tumbling and oil prices surging past $113 a barrel overnight.

In a post written entirely in capital letters, Trump announced on Monday morning, 'I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.' Strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure had been postponed for five days, he wrote, 'subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.'

Oil Markets Feel the Weight of the Five-Day Pause

The reaction in commodity markets was immediate. Brent crude fell 13% to $96 a barrel, gas prices dropped from 159p a therm to around 139p, and the yield on 10-year Government bonds fell to 4.89% from 5.121%. The FTSE 100, which had been down more than 2% earlier in the session, clawed back those losses to close up 0.5%.

The conflict has already left significant damage across the region's energy infrastructure. At least 23 oil and natural gas facilities have reportedly been struck since hostilities began, with Iran and its proxies targeting at least 17 oil and gas sites across nine countries, and the US and Israel targeting six, according to ABC News analysis. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas flows, has been at the centre of the crisis, effectively closed to 'enemy' shipping after Iran restricted passage, leaving tankers anchored and insurers refusing to cover the risk.

Iran's Pushback and Starmer's Careful Calculation

Tehran was not inclined to accept Trump's framing quietly. Foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi issued a pointed rebuttal, saying, 'Strait of Hormuz is not closed. Ships hesitate because insurers fear the war of choice you initiated — not Iran. No insurer and no Iranian will be swayed by more threats.

Try respect — freedom of navigation cannot exist without freedom of trade. Respect both, or expect neither.' It was measured, deliberate and entirely unimpressed, a rare instance of a foreign official addressing an American president with something close to impatience.​

Iran's defence council escalated further, warning that any US strikes on Iranian territory would trigger the mining of all access routes across the Persian Gulf. The council pointed to the 1980s conflict as a cautionary precedent, noting the failure of more than 100 minesweepers to clear only a small number of sea mines laid during that period. The implication was clear: a fully mined Gulf would represent a supply catastrophe far beyond anything the current Hormuz disruption has produced.

In London, Sir Keir Starmer tried to hold a careful line. 'There's no assessment that we're being targeted in that way at all,' he told reporters when asked about a direct threat to the UK, though he was equally clear that protecting British lives meant resisting being 'dragged into the war.' The two leaders spoke by phone on Sunday evening, with a Downing Street spokesperson confirming they agreed that reopening the Strait was 'essential to ensure stability in the global energy market' and that they would 'speak again soon.'​

Iran's threat to mine the Persian Gulf, meanwhile, has not been withdrawn.