Iran Repeated Its Hormuz Demand at the UN. The Market Already Priced It In.

Published: 09-24-2026, 09:47 am

Gold trades near $4,269 an ounce today. Silver sits near $63.61. Both are a little lower on the session. Iran’s president told the United Nations on Wednesday that his country won’t guarantee free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. His condition: US sanctions and the naval blockade have to end first. Markets barely moved. Here’s why that restated demand isn’t new information, and here’s what is actually setting today’s price.

What Did Iran’s President Say About the Strait of Hormuz?

President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly on September 23. He said Iran “cannot accept” a setup where the world benefits from the strait while sanctions punish the country he called its historic guardian. In plain terms, he tied any guarantee of free shipping to two things. First, an end to US sanctions. Second, an end to the naval blockade. He also defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium in the same speech.

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Is This a New Demand, or the Same One Iran Already Made?

It’s the same one, and Iran has now said it several different ways in the space of a week. One day earlier, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Iranian mediators for three hours in New York. Trump called the meeting “very productive” and said another session was coming soon. Iranian state media described the meeting’s purpose in plain terms too: conveying Tehran’s conditions for reopening Hormuz. Those conditions are lifting the naval blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending hostilities on every front. A senior Iranian security official had already stated the same three conditions publicly days earlier.

So Pezeshkian’s UN remarks restate a position Iran’s own negotiators had already made, more than once, before he ever reached the podium. Nothing in his speech changes the underlying ask. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added his own update the same day: the talks produced no major breakthrough, and Washington no longer treats June’s memorandum of understanding as a live option. That’s a second confirmation that this week’s diplomacy hasn’t moved the goalposts in either direction.

Why Aren’t Gold and Silver Reacting to the Rhetoric?

Because the rhetoric didn’t add a new fact for the market to price. A restated demand carries less weight than a first-time threat. Traders had already absorbed the private version through wire reports the day before. Oil showed the sharper reaction on September 23. Brent crude swung from an intraday low near $97.93 to a high above $103. Saudi Arabia’s plan to restart its East-West pipeline eased prices first. Then a suspension of loadings at its Yanbu terminal sent Brent back up. Gold and silver price mainly off the dollar and real yields, not the tanker market. So they didn’t need to match that oil swing tick for tick.

What Is Actually Driving Gold and Silver Today?

The US dollar and the Federal Reserve’s rate path are driving it, not the Strait of Hormuz. Stronger-than-expected US flash PMI data, a hot inflation reading, and hawkish comments from Fed Governor Michael Barr all pushed up the odds of another Fed rate hike in October this week. Futures pricing tracked by CME Group’s FedWatch tool has moved fast: just above 50% a week ago, near 55% on Wednesday morning, then as high as 73% by Wednesday afternoon after Barr’s remarks landed. A higher-for-longer rate path raises the cost of holding gold and silver. Neither metal pays a yield, so a rate hike works against both directly. That mechanism has set the tone for gold and silver all week, and it’s still doing the work today. Iran’s rhetoric adds uncertainty to the oil market. It isn’t the lever moving bullion this morning.

What Should Investors Watch Next?

Three things matter more than one UN speech from here. First, watch whether the next round of US-Iran talks produces any real movement on the naval blockade. That’s the one concession that would remove Iran’s stated condition entirely. Second, watch whether Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline actually restarts and holds. A working pipeline would ease oil-side pressure that has been running independently of the Hormuz standoff. Third, watch Friday’s Fed speakers and next week’s inflation data. Either one will move gold’s price more than a third restatement of a position both sides have now stated repeatedly. The pattern this week has stayed consistent. Gold and silver answer to the dollar and real interest rates first. They answer to headline risk only when a headline changes the actual facts on the ground, and this one didn’t.

SOURCES
1. Bloomberg — Iran President Defends Country’s Right to Nuclear Enrichment
2. Axios — U.S. and Iran Officials Meet in New York to Discuss Ending the War
3. Al Jazeera — US, Iran Hold ‘Very Good’ Talks, Trump Says at UN Meeting
4. Investing.com — Iran Lays Out Conditions for Reopening Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Media Says
5. CNN — Iran’s President Laid Out Tehran’s Demands to the World, From a Podium in New York
6. Al-Monitor — Rubio: US-Iran Talks ‘Positive,’ No Breakthrough Yet
7. Investing.com — Brent Crude Oil Futures Price Today
8. CNBC — Market Sees Next Fed Hike in October, Following Barr Comments and Hot Inflation Reading
9. CME Group — FedWatch Tool, October 2026 FOMC Meeting Probabilities

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.   

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