See the full story in the original article.
Original headline: Qatar says US - Iran talks continue as Tehran prepares for fourth war
Read the original on iranherald.com ↗
Keywords
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
PAXG/USDT
▲ Likely positivePAX Gold
Relevance: medium
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Real-world assets |
| Market cap | $1.8B |
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 4,122.25 |
| Change that session | -0.28% |
XAUT/USDT
▲ Likely positiveTether Gold
Relevance: medium
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Real-world assets |
| Market cap | $3.4B |
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 4,116.60 |
| Change that session | -0.42% |
XAU/USD
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: medium
| Market | Gold |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 4,141.17 |
| Change that session | +0.39% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Iran Is Using the Hostage Crisis Playbook. What Investors Need to Know.
- Iran Prolongs Talks in Stalemate to Influence US Midterms , Officials Say
Senior Iranian officials say Tehran has deliberately prolonged talks with Washington to weaken Donald Trump politically before the November midterm elections, and is preparing for renewed Israeli and US attacks rather than a quick deal to end the war. Trump has not offered a detailed plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed; Iran's offer, relayed through Qatari mediators, would reopen it within seven days under Iranian control if Washington lifts its blockade, eases oil export restrictions, releases frozen assets and ends hostilities, while Washington wants Iran's nuclear program on the table from the outset. Officials say Tehran does not trust US commitments to diplomacy and expects bombing to resume sooner or later, even though Trump has said the US will not bomb Iran again before the election. The stalemate is costly for Iran: annual inflation reached 73.6% in September, the rial has fallen nearly 35% against the dollar since Washington reapplied its naval blockade in July, and seaborne crude exports dropped to zero.
- Iran prolongs talks to undermine Trump before midterms
According to senior Iranian officials who spoke anonymously, Tehran has deliberately prolonged talks with Washington to weaken Donald Trump politically before the November 3 midterm elections, while fearing renewed US attacks. Iran’s offer, conveyed through Qatari mediators, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days under Iranian control, provided the US lifts its maritime blockade, eases oil export restrictions, releases frozen assets and ends hostilities, while Washington wants Iran’s nuclear programme on the table from the outset. Iran’s economy is under heavy strain, with annual inflation at 73.6% in September, the rial down nearly 35% against the dollar since July, and seaborne crude exports falling to zero from the second week of September. Trump has said the US will not bomb Iran again before November 3, but Iranian officials still expect bombing to resume.
- Iran War Has Cost Nearly $2 , 000 Per US Household : Moody Top Economist
Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimated on Oct. 12 that the Iran war has cost the average U.S. household nearly $2,000 since it began, or about $265 billion nationwide. He attributed roughly $1,100 to higher energy and transportation costs, $540 to higher interest rates and $360 to military spending, and said energy costs are still rising about $50 per household each week. Other estimates cover narrower scopes: Brown University puts consumer costs at $133.3 billion (about $1,018 per household), and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has testified to about $37.5 billion in direct military costs. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly dismissed Zandi as a Democrat donor who is frequently wrong. U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began Feb. 28, and the Congressional Budget Office estimated military costs through Aug. 1 at $38.1 billion.
- Trump could lose Congress and still expand the US war on Iran
Trump has said the US will not attack Iran before the 3 November midterm elections, a statement the article reads as a warning that the post-election period could be more dangerous. Prediction markets give Republicans roughly a one-in-ten chance of keeping both chambers of Congress, and an October AP-NORC poll found 69% of Americans think the war was not worth fighting. The author argues that even a Republican defeat would not stop Trump from launching a limited operation, since the outgoing Congress stays in office until 3 January 2027 and the War Powers Resolution's 48-hour reporting rule does not reliably block an opening attack. Central Command has reportedly been asked to prepare options for renewed operations, and Iran could retaliate and disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Exclusive Interview : Trump says Iran war will end soon , oil prices will drop fast
President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Kalispell, Montana on Wednesday night in support of GOP candidates Aaron Flint and Kurt Alme, told NBC Montana in an exclusive interview that he may support suspending diesel taxes in the state. He said the Iran war would be concluded quickly, after which oil and diesel prices would fall sharply, and that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon. He agreed with Flint's view that the war should be finished properly or not waged at all. Trump also blamed former President Joe Biden for inflation and said prices would fall further once the war ends.
Related markets
Latest news
- Why Isn't IBM's Stock Bouncing Back After Strong Earnings Results?
IBM shares fell about 25% in July, their worst day in 115 years, after the company said customers had shifted spending to memory and storage products and delayed major contracts. The third-quarter report on October 21 showed revenue up 5% to $17.1 billion, operating earnings per share up 11% to $2.95, and software growth of 9% at constant currency. The author estimates organic software growth was closer to 4% after excluding the roughly $11 billion Confluent acquisition, and that meeting the roughly $32 billion full-year software target implies fourth-quarter software growth of about 4%. Debt rose to $63.8 billion after $11.4 billion of acquisitions this year, though the dividend appears well covered by free cash flow. The author still sees IBM as a long-term holding for its enterprise AI position and customer base, despite the market's muted reaction.
- IBM Is America’s Worst Big Tech Company
The article argues that IBM, which CEO Arvind Krishna credits with disciplined execution and transformative AI, has missed most major tech shifts over the past fifty years. Quarterly revenue rose 5% to $17.1 billion and net income reached $2.2 billion, up from $1.7 billion a year earlier. The author compares these figures with Nvidia's $60 billion net income last quarter and Microsoft's $90 billion revenue in its most recent quarter. IBM's market cap is $237 billion versus Microsoft's $4 trillion, and the company, the fourth-largest in America in 1993, ranked 66th on the Fortune 500 last year.
- Tesla's Profit Drops 43% as Musk Starts Building Robots and Plans to Sell Driverless Cabs
Tesla's third-quarter net income fell 43% to $787 million from a year earlier, as revenue held flat at $28.05 billion, operating profit dropped 56% to $718 million, and deliveries fell about 2%. Research spending rose 69% to $2.76 billion and capital expenditures more than doubled to $4.73 billion, aimed at humanoid robots and driverless taxis. Tesla has begun producing Optimus robots in Fremont, California, where Musk targets 20,000 a week but says that will take at least a year, with outside deliveries around the end of 2027. Tesla aims to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of 2026, though every one built so far goes to its own robotaxi fleet, no buyer or price has been named, and a federal safety audit is open. Musk also said the Tesla and SpaceX boards have formed committees to study a possible combination, but no terms have been agreed.
- Tesla's Profit Drops 43% as Musk Starts Building Robots and Plans to Sell Driverless Cabs
Tesla's third-quarter net income fell 43% to $787 million from a year earlier, as revenue held flat at $28.05 billion, operating profit dropped 56% to $718 million, and deliveries fell about 2%. Research spending rose 69% to $2.76 billion and capital expenditures more than doubled to $4.73 billion, aimed at humanoid robots and driverless taxis. Tesla has begun producing Optimus robots in Fremont, California, where Musk targets 20,000 a week but says that will take at least a year, with outside deliveries around the end of 2027. Tesla aims to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of 2026, though every one built so far goes to its own robotaxi fleet, no buyer or price has been named, and a federal safety audit is open. Musk also said the Tesla and SpaceX boards have formed committees to study a possible combination, but no terms have been agreed.
- Why Micron Stock Is Falling Hard Today
Shares of Micron Technology (MU) fell about 5.2% by 1:33 p.m. ET as investors worried AI spending could slow. Concerns grew after Nvidia's CEO said capital is scarce for further growth in the AI cloud market, and Meta's shares slid despite beating estimates because it plans $135 billion to $145 billion in capital expenditures this year. Since Micron supplies memory and storage for AI data centers, fears of overspending weighed on its stock. Economic pressure added to the sell-off: the Federal Reserve recently raised rates and hinted at more, oil prices rose on the U.S. war with Iran, and inflation was reported rising faster than expected.
- Taiwan Semiconductor and ASML Are Incredible, but 1 of These Monopoly Chip Stocks Is Far Safer.
The article argues that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and ASML are both near-monopolies, but Taiwan Semiconductor is the safer investment. ASML is the only maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, while Taiwan Semiconductor accounted for about 72.5% of chip fabrication revenue in Q2, a scale no rival matches. The author warns that ASML's business depends on chipmakers expanding capacity for the AI build-out, which may slow once that wave ends. ASML also trades at a sizable premium to Taiwan Semiconductor on both 2026 and 2027 earnings estimates.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.