Qatari mediators held more than 12 hours of talks in Tehran on Friday to revive direct U.S.-Iran negotiations and head off renewed American-led attacks after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with further talks set in Doha. A preliminary June 17 agreement to halt the war, which began Feb. 28, broke down weeks later, and Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed an “immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response” to any threat. In the Strait of Hormuz, a crude tanker was hit by an unknown projectile, Iran said four tankers struck mines, and the Houthis claimed missile strikes on Saudi Arabia. December Brent settled up $2.76, or 2.4%, at $117.64 a barrel, its highest since late April.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Keywords
Irangeopoliticsoil pricesStrait of HormuzQatargold
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
PAXG/USDT
▼ Likely negativePAX Gold
Relevance: medium
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Real-world assets |
| Market cap | $1.8B |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 3,901.71 |
| Change that session | -2.81% |
XAUT/USDT
▼ Likely negativeTether Gold
Relevance: medium
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Real-world assets |
| Market cap | $3.2B |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 3,884.80 |
| Change that session | -3.05% |
XAU/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: medium
| Market | Gold |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 3,875.51 |
| Change that session | -3.63% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Qatar's energy giant unexpectedly must buy US natural gas: A reversal on the global energy map
QatarEnergy signed an October 22 deal with US exporter Cheniere Energy to buy 4 million tonnes of LNG a year through 2054, priced on Henry Hub plus a fixed fee, with deliveries expected from the 2030s. Qatar, once the world's second-largest LNG exporter, lost about 17% of its export capacity after Iran's March attack on the Ras Laffan complex, and Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said repairs could take about 3 years. With the Strait of Hormuz largely blocked, Alex Munton of Rapidan Energy said the long-term contract suggests free shipping through Hormuz may not return soon, even after facilities are restored. Since the conflict began, shares of Cheniere Energy and Venture Global have risen 26% and 40%, respectively. Reuters reports Venture Global is also negotiating with QatarEnergy on a deal for 3 million tonnes of LNG a year.
- Trump says he'll soon decide whether to ‘make a deal’ with Iran or ‘finish it off'
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview on Sunday that he is deciding whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off,” adding that it is “getting to be decision time.” Qatari mediators visited Tehran on Sunday as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continued over the weekend. The last confirmed U.S. strikes on Iran were on Sept. 1, and Trump had previously said strikes would not resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Trump named Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site linked to Iran's nuclear program, as a potential target and repeated his claim that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran says it is preparing a military response to any U.S. attacks. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to meet Iran's leadership in Tehran on Monday, the first meeting of their group since Houthi strikes on Saudi targets.
- Iranians fear return to all - out war with US and Israeli elections
Many Iranians fear a return to all-out war as Israeli and U.S. leaders sharpen threats ahead of elections in both countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran's leadership must be eliminated, while U.S. President Donald Trump vows to “finish the job” eight months after the war began. A former Iranian official says Tehran expects new U.S. strikes regardless of the midterm results, and Iran has threatened U.S. bases and undersea data cables in the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has restricted oil exports, causing medicine shortages, record currency lows and soaring inflation. Staple prices have jumped, with rice over 60% and beef over 150% more expensive, and a supermarket trip can consume half a monthly mid-range salary of 400 million rials (roughly $150).
- US objective is no more oil, nuclear issues, its total destruction of Iran: Foreign Affairs Expert Waiel Awwad
Expert Waiel Awwad told ANI that Washington's real aim on Iran goes beyond oil and nuclear issues, namely regime change and the “total destruction” of Iran to make Israel the region's dominant force. He linked this to US midterm election politics and said Iran sees the conflict as an “existential war,” while the US response to Tehran's diplomatic proposals remained non-committal. With crude at USD 117 per barrel, he pointed to pressure on India's energy security and inflation. The IRGC claimed control of the Strait of Hormuz after two supertankers carrying over 4.5 million barrels reportedly hit mines, and Iran said US naval vessels would not be allowed into the Persian Gulf.
- European and Middle Eastern foreign ministers urge restraint at Istanbul talks
Foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt met in Istanbul on Friday and urged restraint amid fears of renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said military intervention was not a solution, and the ministers agreed to tell all parties that diplomacy must prevail. The group will meet regularly to address a lasting resolution of Iran's actions and to ensure freedom of navigation in Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Black Sea, where suspected Russian drone attacks have struck ships near Bulgaria and Romania. The US and Israel have reportedly discussed a major new military operation against Iran, though President Donald Trump said he would not strike again before the November 3 midterm elections. Iran has vowed a wider response to any new attack, while the US continues its military blockade of Iranian seaports.
- World shares retreat as report of damage to oil takers pushes oil prices higher
World shares and U.S. futures fell on Thursday as oil prices rose more than 2% after Iran's state television reported that seven oil tankers caught fire and were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz. If verified, it would be the largest number of vessels damaged in the waterway in a single day since the Iran war began on Feb. 28. Brent crude rose 3.2% to $112.27 a barrel, having traded between $97 and $112 recently amid uncertainty about when the global energy industry will return to normal. Asian markets slid, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 2.7% and South Korea's Kospi down 3.5%, hit by selling in big tech and memory chip makers, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 also fell in early European trading.
Related markets
Latest news
- Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock Sees Fair Value Cut After Q3 Miss And Higher AI Spending
Alphabet's Fair Value Estimate was adjusted from US$429.46 to US$408.09, narrowing the implied upside in some analyst models. TD Cowen, BMO Capital and Oppenheimer highlighted AI and Google Cloud momentum, while Citi, JPMorgan, Piper Sandler, Deutsche Bank and BofA cut price targets after Search revenue growth came in below buy-side expectations, free cash flow softened and heavier AI and TPU capex weighed on sentiment. Updated assumptions include revenue growth moving from 21.31% to 22.16%, net profit margin from 30.54% to 29.44%, future P/E from 28.95x to 26.94x, and discount rate from 8.77% to 8.69%.
- 3 Capital Efficient Software Stocks For Steady Cash Flow
The article argues that as AI-heavy giants such as Amazon and Intel pour cash into data centers and chips, the market is punishing expensive or cash-hungry stocks, which may shift attention to quieter firms that generate steady free cash flow. It highlights 3 stocks from a high free-cash-flow screener, noting that the same screen found 32 more cash-generative businesses not covered in the piece. R Systems International (NSEI:RSYSTEMS) generates about ₹20.1b from IT services and ₹2.2b from BPO work, with a market value of roughly ₹29.7b, and its OptimaAI platform and AI-first delivery already influence an estimated 28% to 30% of revenue. Sonata Software (NSEI:SONATSOFTW), with a market value of about ₹61.9b, provides IT services, cloud and AI solutions, and the article says it avoids the heavy capital spending and balance sheet strain that worry some investors in hardware-intensive peers.
- Trumpflation Is Getting Worse and It Could Trigger a Wall Street Nightmare
The PCE price index rose 3.6% year over year in September, up from 3.4% in August, while core inflation accelerated to 3.1%, both above the Fed's 2% target. The article notes NY Fed research found businesses and consumers absorbed nearly 90% of the economic burden of tariffs imposed in 2025, but argues the Iran war now plays a larger role: Brent crude averaged $114 per barrel in September, up $23 from August, and gasoline jumped 9.1%, accounting for more than half the rise in consumer prices. At the October 28 meeting, the Fed held rates at 3.75% to 4.00% in a 10–2 vote, with two members wanting another quarter-point hike after September's unanimous increase. Real disposable income fell 0.3% in September even as nominal consumer spending rose 0.5%. The article warns that AI infrastructure spending could approach $1 trillion annually by 2027, and heavily indebted firms like CoreWeave, with about $35 billion in debt and $640 million in quarterly interest costs, could face higher financing costs if rates rise.
- Jensen Huang Just Announced Fantastic News for Nvidia Stock Investors
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said demand for neoclouds, providers that rent out compute power for AI, is 'off the charts,' but these companies may lack the working capital to fund their expansion. CoreWeave and Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) also said demand exceeds what they can supply in the short term, and CoreWeave has raised more than $30 billion in debt and equity this year, equal to almost 91% of its roughly $33 billion market cap. The author says that if neoclouds secure funding through more borrowing or dilutive financing, they will keep buying Nvidia GPUs and Nvidia could benefit, while spending could fall if the AI boom slows.
- Crypto industry pours more than $200 million into 2026 midterms to pressure Congress on favorable rules
Crypto-tied organizations have contributed more than $200 million this election cycle, according to Public Citizen, outpacing online betting and data center groups in federal corporate political spending. Fairshake and its affiliated super PACs back 33 House candidates, 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats, and are prioritizing six incumbents with a baseline of $1 million each. Coinbase says it donated $25 million to Fairshake's 2026 midterm efforts, after contributing $79 million to federal races in the 2024 cycle. The Clarity Act, a bipartisan crypto market-structure bill, stalled in the Senate in September after Democrats argued it did too little to stop top officials from profiting from crypto, amid a Gallup poll finding a record 89% of U.S. adults say government corruption is widespread. In Ohio, Fairshake told CNBC it has spent $55 million to oppose Sherrod Brown, who holds a four-point edge over Jon Husted in a Marist poll, within a 4.5% margin of error.
- The stock market's front-runners stumbled in October. Here's where the smart money is moving now.
U.S. stocks reversed sharply in October as worries about shrinking free cash flow and rising borrowing costs disrupted the rally in AI-related shares.
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.