Crude slides as Washington trades military action for economic pressure on Tehran

Oil benchmarks dropped more than 3% on Tuesday as markets interpreted Washington's pivot to sanctions rather than further strikes on Iran as lowering supply disruption risks. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an "economic D-Day" against Tehran but offered no timeline or specific target countries, while Pakistani mediators reported constructive talks with Iranian leadership. The easing of geopolitical tensions helped Brent fall below $90 a barrel, though analysts cautioned that broader US-Canada trade tariffs could still unsettle markets.