Tuesday, April 7, 2026…4:10 PM ET
[4:00 PM ET closing prices for stocks; 3:50ish for commodities and bonds.]
Tale of the Tape at the gas pump, nationwide averages, courtesy of AAA.
Fri., Feb. 27…regular gas $2.98…diesel $3.75
Tues. Apr. 7…reg. $4.14…diesel $5.64…17 cents from all-time high….
The clock is ticking between the United States and Iran, Israel more than just a bystander….
President Trump on Truth Social, Tuesday, 8:06 AM ET:
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
West Texas Intermediate surged to $116 a barrel on the post. [The rest of the day, it swung wildly between $111 and $116 on every little rumor of progress/no progress on talks. Ditto gasoline futures…roughly $3.25 to $3.35.]
Israeli airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station in Iran on Tuesday, and Iranian officials urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants.
The U.S. also struck military targets on the Iranian oil hub of Kharg Island, according to White House officials. The attack marked the second time the island was targeted.
Trump has extended previous deadlines but suggested the one set for 8 p.m. in Washington was final, and the rhetoric on both sides reached a fever pitch, leaving Iranians on edge. President Trump insists Iran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it “officially rejects” the U.S.’s proposed 15-point peace plan to end the conflict, calling it “unrealistic.”
“Iran firmly refuses any negotiations conducted under the shadow of illegal sanctions, military threats, or coercion,” the Iranian government said in a post on X, adding diplomacy requires “mutual respect, not pressure.”
Trump told reporters Monday that Iran’s latest offer was “significant” but not “good enough” to avoid attacks on its power plants and bridges.
Iran is insisting on a permanent end to hostilities and delivered its own 10-point proposal, which includes a guarantee that Iran not be attacked again, an end to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah and a lifting of all sanctions.
Tehran has acknowledged that messages have been sent through intermediaries but says there have been no direct contacts or substantive negotiations. A regional official familiar with the messages said there was no common ground between the U.S. and Iranian lists.
Among the problems in getting negotiations off the ground, the official told Reuters, are Israeli strikes that have killed successive rounds of Iranian leaders and that internal communications among those trying to avoid the same fate are spotty because of the bombing and an internal internet shutdown. Any Iranian response was taking at least 24 to 36 hours.
President Trump alluded to those difficulties on Monday, with Steve Witkoff telling him, “The biggest problem we have in our negotiation is that they can’t communicate. …We’re communicating like they used to communicate 2,000 years ago, with children bringing a note back and forth.”
Pakistan said today that efforts to facilitate talks between the United States and Iran are ongoing, but Islamabad wasn’t optimistic, saying recent developments have dealt a serious setback to peace efforts.
Addressing the Pakistani Senate, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that until last night he had been hopeful, but recent “dangerous developments” have again escalated the situation.
Pakistan also said it will stand with Saudi Arabia under its defense pact if the war escalates further.
Iran then cut off contact with the U.S., though back-channel negotiations continue. Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said his country “has finalized the necessary measures in detail for all scenarios,” according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
There are concerns that further escalation tonight will cause Iran’s allies to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
That said, several Asian countries including Pakistan, India and the Philippines have made agreements with Tehran to let some ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz safely. China has also acknowledged that their vessels have used the channel.
But now we sit back and wait.
First, though, we had a crazy last few minutes in the markets.
Dow Jones -85…-0.2% [46584]
S&P 500 +5…+0.1% [6616]
Nasdaq +21…+0.1% [22017]
Oil (WTI) $112.10…Brent $107.20
Gold $4700
Silver $72.85
Bitcoin $69,010 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 3.81%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.31%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.39%
Back Wed.
Brian Trumbore
