Thursday 07 May 2026 6:30 am | Updated: Thursday 07 May 2026 8:13 am

FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slip; oil back over $100 as Trump ramps up Iran threats

By: Samuel Norman, Felix Armstrong, Maisie Grice and Maria Ward-Brennan

Donald Trump wearing a green tie at a public event, addressing the audience with a serious expression in a formal setting — Trump has said a deal in Iran is closer bringing hopes to global stock markets.

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog.

After a relief rally on Wednesday, some tensions are returning to the market as Donald Trump threatens to give the American military the order to restart its bombing of the Middle East if Iran doesn’t “give what has been agreed to”.

Trump has said should Iran follow through on a deal the war “will be at an end” and the Strait of Hormuz will be “OPEN TO ALL, including Iran”.

The mixed messages have sent Brent crude – the international bench mark for oil prices – back over the $100 mark.

It follows hopes that the conflict in the Middle East might finally be drawing to a close bringing a much-needed relief rally to global stocks on Wednesday.

Brent crude was able to slip under $100 after Donald Trump predicted the war in Iran would be “over quickly”. He added most people “understand” the central goal of ending Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Trump said on Wednesday that the US would hit pause on its naval escort mission in the Strait of Hormuz as negotiations kicked off once more.

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has accused Washington of seeking Tehran’s surrender through using the blockade to cause “economic pressure and media manipulation”.

But the Iranian foreign minister has said Iran is considering the US plan for a peace deal.

“The US plan and proposal are still being reviewed by Iran, and Iran will convey its views to the Pakistani side after concluding its assessment,” Esmaeil Baghaei told ISNA, Iran’s semiofficial news agency.

It’s local election day in the UK and Keir Starmer’s premiership is hanging in the balance as his Labour Party prepares to take a drubbing in council boroughs across the country.

Gilt yields rose at their fastest rate earlier this week as the market prepares for the economic upheaval that could follow if Starmer is defenestrated.