First US-Iran Talks in Months Send Crude Lower

Oil prices fell after American and Iranian officials met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Assembled by Claude from 9 sources at 9 outlets · Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Evening edition, 5:20 PM EDT · no human byline

What happened

A United States delegation met with Iranian officials, and President Trump said another meeting would be scheduled for the "very near future" politico.com. Trump called the talks productive, having earlier threatened to "annihilate" Iran unless it agreed to end the war semafor.com. CBS News reported these were the first US-Iran talks since June, held after the president's annihilation threat cbsnews.com.

The contact was indirect. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting, in talks that raised hopes for progress despite no concessions wtvbam.com. Trump told reporters the US delegation spent three hours with Iranian officials startupfortune.com. Speaking at the 81st session of the General Assembly, Trump said he may sign a deal with Iran after the midterm elections, or annihilate it instead timesofisrael.com.

Why it matters to investors

Crude responded to the meeting rather than to supply policy. Oil prices sank after the three-hour meeting with Iran's delegation, and no OPEC statement moved the tape startupfortune.com. Bloomberg described oil's string of declines as showing cautious optimism over the Iran-US track bloomberg.com.

The move carried into other markets. European shares were seen opening slightly higher as oil extended its slide, with the US dollar near a two-month high finanznachrichten.de. Earlier in the week the dollar firmed on hawkish Federal Reserve commentary as oil slipped below $100 indexbox.io. That reading puts two forces on crude at once: a diplomatic track that is pulling prices down and a monetary track that is lifting the dollar indexbox.iofinanznachrichten.de. CBS News noted the talks followed joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran cbsnews.com.

What to watch

The first question is scheduling, since Trump said another meeting would be arranged in the very near future politico.com. The second is substance, because the first round produced no concessions from either side wtvbam.com.

The third is timing relative to US politics. Trump linked any agreement to the period after the midterm elections, while keeping the alternative of military escalation on the table timesofisrael.com. For oil, the immediate read is that diplomacy is setting direction: prices fell on a meeting, not on a production decision startupfortune.com. Bloomberg's framing of cautious optimism suggests the market is pricing progress rather than a settlement bloomberg.com. The fourth marker is the negotiating format, because the two sides have so far spoken through mediators rather than face to face wtvbam.com. Whether that changes will say more about the direction of travel than the president's public language does politico.comsemafor.com.

Sources

1. politico.com: US delegation met with Iranians (2026-09-22)
2. semafor.com: Trump hails ‘productive’ US-Iran talks (2026-09-22)
3. startupfortune.com: Oil Prices Sink After Trump's Three-Hour Meeting With Iran's Delegation - Startup Fortune (2026-09-23)
4. bloomberg.com: Oil's String of Declines Shows Cautious Optimism Over Iran-US - Bloomberg (2026-09-23)
5. cbsnews.com: U.S. and Iran hold first talks since June after Trump threatens regime with annihilation (2026-09-23)
6. wtvbam.com: First US-Iran talks in months raise hopes for progress despite no concessions | WTVB (2026-09-23)
7. timesofisrael.com: Trump tells UN he may sign deal with Iran after midterms, or 'annihilate' it instead (2026-09-23)
8. finanznachrichten.de: European Shares Seen Tad Higher At Open As Oil Extends Slide - Finanznachrichten (2026-09-23)
9. indexbox.io: Dollar Firms on Hawkish Fed Commentary as Oil Slips Below $100 - IndexBox (2026-09-22)