Markets welcomed Trump’s announcement that Iran would stop fighting despite new attacks in the Gulf states

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, staying above pre-war levels but falling below the $100 a barrel mark, and stocks rose after the United States and Iran said they had agreed to a two-week conditional ceasefire that should see Tehran temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.

US West Texas Intermediate lost nearly 20% and global benchmark Brent Crude oil plunged as much as 16%, both trading around the $95 mark early Wednesday as investors expressed broad relief after more than five weeks of a war that rocked commodities.

The joy sent global stocks tumbling in the hope that the crisis that has terrorized the world economy for more than a month will end.

Shares in Seoul jumped 6.9% and Tokyo 5.4%, while Taipei added more than 4% and Mumbai reached 3.8%. Hong Kong advanced more than 3%, while Sydney, Shanghai, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Singapore and Wellington were also very high.

London, Paris and Frankfurt extended the global rally, while US futures rose.

Middle Eastern stocks were also strong, with Dubai jumping 8.5%, the biggest daily gain since December 2014, according to Bloomberg.

CBS/AFP

The maritime watchdog said on Wednesday that shipping was resuming in the Strait of Hormuz, with two vessels moving through the vital waterway.

“The first signs of ship operations are emerging in the Strait of Hormuz following the ceasefire,” MarineTraffic told X.

“The first steps are currently being recorded,” he said. “The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberian-flagged Daytona Beach left early at 06:59 UTC, shortly after leaving Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC.”

MarineTraffic said “hundreds of vessels remain in the region, including 426 tankers, 34 LPG carriers, and 19 LNG vessels, many of which were successfully stranded during the disruption.”

Both ships that passed the port on Wednesday passed near Iran’s Larak Island, which is say analysts the state uses a “toll booth” to collect tolls for safe passage.

The Associated Press, citing a regional official directly involved in the negotiations, said the plan allows Iran and Oman to charge tolls for ships that will pass through the port. The official told the AP that Iran intends to use the money from its post-war reconstruction payments.

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday afternoon that its air defenses shot down an incoming Iranian missile attack. And the Kuwaiti military said its forces responded to the “speech” of the drone attack.

A gas processing plant in Abu Dhabi has been gutted after Iranian fire broke out, officials said. The fire stopped for a moment, but started again.

Missile alerts were issued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait after the ceasefire announcement.

“Air defense systems are currently responding to the missile threat,” the UAE’s emergency and disaster authorities said in a post on X. “Please stay safe and follow official channels for alerts and updates.”

Iran then said an oil refinery was attacked, and Iran state TV reported that an oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island was attacked on Wednesday. The report says that firefighters were working to contain the fire but no one was injured. It did not say who invented it.

CBS/AP

At least three explosions were heard near Iran’s Lavan Island Oil Refinery, state media reported Wednesday, hours after President Trump said the US and Iran had agreed to terms for a two-week ceasefire.

It is not clear whether the US or Israeli forces have launched a new attack on the island, which is located less than 10 miles from Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf, west of the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Mehr news agency said several explosions were reported on Siri Island, southeast of Lavan and very close to the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. It said the cause of the explosion was not yet clear.

“Considering the need for both sides to comply with the cease-fire declaration, and according to the military, any attack on the country will be met with a tragic response,” said Mehr.

Vice President JD Vance, who is on a trip to Hungary, called the cease-fire a “fragile deal,” adding that Iran’s foreign minister had reacted positively to the deal, but others in the country were “lying” about military achievements and ending the war.

“That’s why I say this is a fragile agreement,” he said. “You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find something good, and then you have people who lie and even the fragile truths that we have already beaten.”

Vance said that if the Iranians are willing to be “honest with us,” he believes they can make a deal.

“What the President has shown is that we still have a clear military, ambassadors and, perhaps most importantly, we have great economic power,” Vance said. “So the President told us not to use those tools. He told us to come to the negotiating table. But if the Iranians don’t do the same, they will find out that the President of the United States is not a man to mess around. He is patient. He has the patience to develop.”

A top EU official described the US-Iran deal on Wednesday as “a step back from the brink.”

“It creates a much-needed opportunity to reduce threats, stop missiles, restart shipping, and create space to negotiate a lasting agreement,” said Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission and EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

He said he spoke to Pakistan’s foreign minister and thanked him for reaching an agreement, but urged that “the door to mediation” remain open, as “the causes of the war have not been resolved.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she welcomed the disarmament, which “brings a much-needed reduction.”

He also said he thanked Pakistan for mediating, adding, “Now it is important that negotiations for a solution to this conflict continue.”

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry called the US-Iran ceasefire agreement an “important step” to end the war permanently on Wednesday, and a Cairo spokesman said Cairo would try to take advantage of the diplomatic move.

“The decision of the United States and Iran to agree to end the war is an important step in reducing the decline in the region. Now we must allow diplomacy to take its place. We will continue to support our faith in diplomacy and let the dialogue succeed,” the spokesman told CBS News, adding that Egypt “will do everything in its power to improve this existing war and end the good moment.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council shared a lengthy statement on Tuesday hailing a conditional ceasefire agreement with Washington as a “great victory” 38 days after the US and Israel launched their joint war with the Islamic Republic.

The English version of a statement posted online by Iran’s official Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Tehran “forced the American criminal to accept its 10-point plan, in which the United States is committed to ensuring non-violence, continuing Iranian control over the Strait, enrichment and Hormunium enrichment”. sanctions, ending all resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors, paying compensation to Iran, withdrawing American forces from the region and stopping the war on all sides, including opposing the Lebanese Islamic heroism. [Hezbollah].”

The Council’s statement added, “until the details of this victory are finalised, patience and prudence on the part of the authorities is still required.”

Announcing the agreement on his Truth Social platform, President Trump called the 10-point plan, which was passed earlier in the week in Washington by Pakistani negotiators, “a viable basis for negotiation.”

“Almost all the different points of the previous conflict have been agreed upon between the United States and Iran, but the two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and implemented,” said Mr.

President Trump said Tuesday he had agreed to a “double-deal Ceasefire” with Iran, less than two hours earlier. his deadline for Iran to make a deal with the US or face major strikes on its energy plants and bridges.

“I agree to stop bombing and attacking Iran for two weeks,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, saying that the US had “already met and exceeded all military objectives.”

He said the ceasefire, which he agreed to at Pakistan’s request, “is subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, QUICK, AND SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, confirmed that Iran has agreed to stop “defensive operations,” possibly referring to its bombing and missile attacks on American allies in the region, if the US stops attacking Iran.

Araghchi said Iran’s military would coordinate “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” but it was unclear what that coordination would entail. Analysts say that Iran, in the past week or so, has allowed selected vessels to pass through the strait in order to earn a fortune, using its island of Larak as “a place to settle expenses.”