US-Iran Talks Advance: Iranian FM confirms progress on nuclear and sanctions issues, Oil prices steady

[Ben Graham]

• Iranian FM confirms "good progress" was made on both nuclear and sanctions issues during the latest round of US-Iran talks in Switzerland.
• Officials are returning to their capitals for consultations, with technical expert talks scheduled for next week in Vienna.
• Prices briefly spiked on rumors the talks had failed over US demands (stop enrichment, hand over uranium), but quickly dropped most gains after news of "significant progress."

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The US and Iran have made a lot of progress in their latest talks, mediator Oman said on Thursday.

The goal of these meetings is to settle long-term concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and to prevent the US from launching new military strikes. This is happening at a tense time, as the US has been significantly increasing its military presence in the Middle East.

On Thursday, the two sides met in Switzerland for two separate sessions (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). However, they didn't speak directly; instead, officials from Oman acted as go-betweens, passing messages back and forth between:

Iran’s side: Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

The U.S. side: Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Before the talks ended, a high-ranking Iranian official told Reuters that a basic deal is possible but only if the US stops mixing nuclear arguments with other, unrelated disagreements.

We finally heard from the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi a short while ago who stated “Today was one of the best, most serious & longest rounds of negotiations. We made good progress & seriously engaged with elements of a deal regarding both #nuclear & sanctions issues. We are close to an understanding on some issues, though differences remain on others.”

The developments have also been having a massive impact on oil prices as well as haven demand as it is another layer of uncertainty for market participants to consider.

What happens next?

Consultations: Officials from both countries are heading back to their capitals to discuss the progress.

Future Meetings: Formal negotiations will start again soon.

Technical Talks: Experts are scheduled to meet in Vienna next week to work on the specific details.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi shared the update on X (formerly Twitter) after the most recent round of talks in Switzerland ended.

Overall risk sentiment does not appear to have been affected that much with AI still the dominant theme especially for Equity markets.

Why did oil prices jump then fall?

When it comes to the Oil market, one which has been affected by the US military buildup in the Middle East and prices were largely flat after some whipsaw price action earlier in the day.

Prices actually spiked by more than a dollar earlier in the day. This happened because reports suggested the talks had hit a wall. Specifically, the U.S. was reportedly demanding two things that Iran didn't like:

1. That Iran stop all uranium enrichment.
2. That Iran hand over all its highly enriched uranium to the U.S.

However, once Oman announced that "significant progress" was actually being made, prices dropped back down and lost most of those gains.

Market participants are laser-focused on these talks. Here is the basic rules they are likely following right now:

If talks fail: Traders worry about war or supply problems in the Middle East, which makes oil more expensive.

If talks succeed: The risk of conflict goes down, which causes a sell-off and lowers prices.

For now though, key support rests at the 62.66 handle (200-day MA) before the 61.67 and the 100-day MA 60.27 come into focus.

A move higher from here in Oil prices faces a test at the 66.15 handle before the 67.00 handle comes into play.

WTI Crude Oil Daily Chart, February 26, 2026

Source:Tradingview

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