By Abiola Olawale
Oil prices plummeted by nearly 5% on Tuesday, hitting a two-week low, after Israel and Iran agreed to a United States-brokered ceasefire.
According to official global prices, Brent was down 5.0 percent at $67.93 per barrel, while the main US crude contract, WTI, was 5.1 percent lower at $65.01 per barrel.
The development comes after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on his Truth Social platform.
The ceasefire marked the end of a 12-day clash that had traders on edge over potential disruptions in the oil-rich region.
“THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The US President said the truce would be a phased 24-hour process beginning at around 0400 GMT Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations first. He said Israel would follow suit 12 hours later.
Recall that the Israel-Iran war began after Israel declared that Iran was weeks away from a nuclear breakout.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had claimed that declassified reports revealed Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had grown to 140 kilograms, enough for three bombs if further enriched.
Netanyahu said that based on this, Israel launched a surprise attack on June 12, 2025.
The attack dubbed “Operation Rising Lion,” targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile sites, and key military figures.
Following the attack, Iran launched over 280 ballistic missiles at Israel since Friday, June 13.
The war escalated after the U.S. attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. The strikes targeted key sites like Fordow, Natanz, and I
Iran, on Tuesday, retaliated with a missile strike on the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
