Brent crude has fallen below $90 per barrel for the first time since August, driven by mounting optimism that the eight-month US-Iran war may be drawing to a close.

The Brent North Sea crude benchmark declined 3.1 percent to $89.66 a barrel on Tuesday, continuing steep losses seen in recent trading sessions. Meanwhile, the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, dropped 2.3 percent to $84.86.

US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that momentum was building toward ending the war with Iran, declaring the country “militarily, is effectively over,” while leaving open the possibility of further strikes.

Iran on Tuesday called on the United States to meet its demands under a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, following President Trump’s comments about “positive momentum” to end their eight-month conflict.

“The conflict with Iran will not be resolved through military means, nor by intensifying sanctions,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iran’s IRNA news agency.

“The only solution is to adopt a language of respect, engage in diplomacy, and address Iran’s demands and conditions — which were outlined in the two-day proposal and remain on the table.”

Tehran has proposed reopening Hormuz, which it has blockaded since the war began, within two days in exchange for Washington meeting a series of conditions.

These include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending the US counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump, whose Republican party lost midterm elections last week partly due to the war, said on Monday that there was “positive momentum” toward ending the conflict after meeting Qatar’s prime minister at the White House.

In a social media post, Trump reiterated that the US was “locked and loaded” but said further strikes were “quite unlikely” given that key US allies in the Gulf “would prefer the status quo.”

“We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this conflict, and will ensure that America’s interests are at all times protected,” Trump said.

Diplomatic efforts, led by Qatar and Pakistan, are underway to find a resolution to the war, which broke out in late February when US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Tuesday, Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei urged Washington to “surrender” to the Iranian demands.

“The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government. But Washington flails like a desperate gambler. FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks,” said Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a post on X.