Trump Says U.S. Needs No Deal With Iran; Brent Settles Up 3.3% at $95.82

• Dispatched: Nov 12, 2026 · 19:08 ET (Nov 13, 00:08 UTC)

One-sentence summary: President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States no longer needs a deal with Iran, dimming hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough to end the U.S.-Iran war, and Brent crude settled 3.3% higher at $95.82 a barrel while U.S. WTI settled 2.6% higher at $88.74 a barrel.

Verification status: ✓ Cross-confirmed by Trump's own social-media post (primary source) and Bloomberg reporting; crude settlement prices are official exchange settlements. Iran's account of tanker explosions comes from an Iranian semi-official news agency and has not been independently confirmed.

Core Facts & Consensus Delta:

Trump wrote on Truth Social around midday on 2026-11-12: "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, hundreds of billions of dollars, and we've got their strait!" (Published: 2026-11-12 16:50 ET / 21:50 UTC, Bloomberg.) The shift in tone came just three days after he had suggested the war was nearing its end.

Crude climbed steadily through the session: Brent for January settlement rose 3.3% to $95.82 a barrel, and WTI for December delivery rose 2.6% to $88.74 a barrel. Notably, the rally came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported crude stockpiles rose 4.7 million barrels last week, the biggest jump since early August — a bearish print that the geopolitical risk premium overrode. Brent is still up more than 50% this year, but had fallen sharply this month as Middle East export flows recovered and markets priced in a possible end to the conflict after the U.S. midterm elections.

Tehran also signaled a tough stance: Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the country would not remove "a single atom" of enriched nuclear material. Iran's semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency said two supertankers loaded with oil were halted by explosions late Wednesday while using an "unauthorized" route through the Strait of Hormuz; that account has not been independently confirmed.

Supply-Chain & Market Read-Through: Since the U.S.-Iran war began on 2026-02-28, Iran has said it will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, and the U.S. Navy has blockaded Iranian crude exports. The recovery in Middle East export flows now depends heavily on workarounds: Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline to the Red Sea and ship-to-ship "shuttle trade" transfers, both of which rely on U.S. naval escorts. A UBS analyst noted that those flows depend partly on how long the United States is willing to provide that protection, and at what cost.

Higher crude feeds directly into energy and transport costs and, through inflation expectations, into interest-rate pricing: the U.S. October producer price index is due at 2026-11-13 08:30 ET / 13:30 UTC, and rate-hike expectations ahead of the Federal Reserve's December 8–9 meeting may move with it. In Europe, Ukrainian drone strikes hit Russian refineries again, compounding a diesel supply squeeze caused by the Iran war; Russia has been forced to stop exporting diesel.

Next Catalysts & Watchpoints:

• 2026-11-13 08:30 ET / 13:30 UTC: U.S. October PPI, a check on whether higher energy prices are feeding through to producer-side inflation.
• Whether U.S.-Iran talks resume: watch whether Vice President JD Vance shifts focus elsewhere as Trump directed, and whether Tehran offers new negotiating terms.
• Strait of Hormuz shipping: independent evidence on the two-tanker explosion incident, and how long U.S. naval escorts and the blockade continue.

Sources:

• Bloomberg (via Rigzone): Oil Rises as Trump Dims Iran Deal Hopes (Published: 2026-11-12 16:50 ET / 21:50 UTC)
• OilPrice: Brent Briefly Hits $96 After Trump Says U.S. Has No Need for Iran Deal (Published: 2026-11-12 12:30 ET / 17:30 UTC, updated 15:37 ET / 20:37 UTC)

Information only, not investment advice.