DOMINANT ANGLE
Vilnius is gauging the sequence in terms of the barrel: the promise of a Washington-Tehran dialogue has driven Brent below $100, more so than the threat to "annihilate" Iran made at the UN.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Brent has fallen to $98.91 and WTI to $89.93 a barrel, below the symbolic threshold of $100, after the announcement of the US-Iranian meeting.
- 02
Trump described the three-hour meeting between US and Iranian emissaries as "very good" and "very productive", with another session already planned.
- 03
Trump said he believes an agreement will be reached just after the November midterm elections, where his party risks losing part of Congress in part due to high fuel prices related to the war.
ANALYSIS
Vilnius, September 23, 2026. At the United Nations podium on Tuesday, Donald Trump said he had to make a "great decision": conclude an agreement allowing Iran to rebuild, or "quickly annihilate the Islamic Republic, never giving them the chance to kill and destroy again". A few hours later, on the same day, the American president changed his tone in front of journalists, on the sidelines of a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky: a three-hour meeting between American and Iranian representatives in New York turned out to be "very good" and "very productive", with another session already planned.
The Lithuanian economic press, which closely followed the sequence, first notes its effect on the markets. Brent crude fell to $98.91 a barrel and US WTI to $89.93, dropping below the symbolic threshold of $100, which has been crossed several times since the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Nearly seven months after the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran that triggered the conflict, Iran is still keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, while the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports. The conflict in Yemen between government forces supported by Riyadh and Houthi rebels backed by Tehran has spread to the Saudi kingdom, restricting energy exports from the Red Sea.
Stephen Innes, an analyst at Quintex Intel, quoted by the Lithuanian press, believes that the meeting "pushes the market from a pricing based solely on the risk of escalation towards a genuine diplomatic process, even if a final agreement still seems distant". Trump promised that oil prices would drop "as soon as" the United States wins the war.
The president repeated his belief that an agreement with Tehran would come just after the November midterms, where his party risks losing Congress, in part due to the high fuel prices caused by the war. "I believe we will reach an agreement just after the elections, because it would not be logical for them not to do so", he said, adding: "They are waiting to see how I will do in the midterms. They do not understand that I am not on the ballot." Trump also said he believes a Russian-Ukrainian agreement is imminent. On Wall Street, the indices closed in a mixed order: the S&P 500 almost stable at 7,764.76 points, the Dow Jones down 0.36% at 51,863.69 points.
SOURCES (2)
- Verslo ziniosMEDIUM
- Kauno dienaMEDIUM
