War Room brief: Brent back near $93 as Iran denies talks, and Bessent is moved to a military base

Iran and the United States

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was reportedly moved from his Washington home to a military base because of Iranian threats, CNBC reported, citing The New York Times, which said U.S. officials believe Iranian plotting against current and former officials has reached a more advanced stage. Reuters said the severity of the threats was not immediately clear. Bessent leads the Treasury's "Operation Economic Outcast" sanctions campaign against Iran. We have not seen an official statement.

The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed an indictment against three Iran-backed operatives, accused of roles in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States, including the September plot near RAF Fairford in England, according to the BBC. Iran strongly denies involvement. These are allegations in an indictment, not findings of a court.

On diplomacy, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday's U.S.-Iran talks were "focused on making progress" but "we cannot say how close or how far away an agreement is," per Fortune. Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei says no negotiations are under way and that the claims aim at "easing economic pressures and reducing oil prices," per CNBC. President Trump says he sees "positive momentum" but the U.S. is "locked and loaded." Watch today: any Iranian reply through Qatar and any U.S. statement on the Bessent report.

Saudi Arabia, the Houthis and Hormuz

The Houthi military spokesperson said the group fired another salvo on Tuesday at King Khalid International Airport and pumping stations on the East-West pipeline, plus an Aramco facility in Abqaiq, OilPrice.com reported. Saudi authorities had not acknowledged the strikes or any damage. The Saudi-led coalition said only that air defenses intercepted several missiles over southern Saudi Arabia and Riyadh and a drone over the Eastern Province. These are Houthi claims we cannot verify.

At sea, Reuters, citing the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, reports 37 vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz in October, and the International Maritime Organization counts 130 since the war began, per OilPrice.com. Watch today: a Saudi statement on the pipeline and any new tanker incident.

Russia and Ukraine

U.S.-mediated talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the first such meeting since February, per CNBC. Headlines from AP and Reuters say the sides held nearly four hours of talks on day one and started a second day Wednesday; a Kyiv Post headline says Zelensky challenged Russia's Donbas claims presented there. We saw those headlines only and cannot report what was discussed. Separately, a 41-year-old U.S. Army soldier assigned to NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps was arrested near Gloucester on suspicion of spying for Russia, London's Metropolitan Police said. The Kremlin's Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has "absolutely nothing to do with" the case. Watch today: any joint statement from Abu Dhabi.

Markets box

Read from Yahoo Finance about 7:00 a.m. ET. Futures moves compare early Wednesday with Tuesday's close; ETFs show Tuesday's close against Monday's. Percentages are our arithmetic.

Yahoo's front-month futures series may differ from other feeds, so read moves rather than exact levels.

Oil. OilPrice.com says crude reversed part of its early-week fall as peace hopes faded, with Brent near $92.43, still far below the over-$110 level of late October. LSEG Oil Research warned that even with a deal, flows through Hormuz depend on mine clearance, insurance costs and shipowners' willingness to take the risk. Shipping and insurance. Record October attack counts keep war-risk cover costly. Airlines and airspace. JETS was flat after a strong start to the week, and Houthi missile alerts around Riyadh and the Eastern Province remain the airspace risk. Defense. ITA rose 1.0% Tuesday as the Fairford indictment and the Bessent report landed. Consumers. Pump prices follow crude with a lag, so Brent's rebound matters if it holds. Stocks trade today, but bond markets are closed for Veterans Day.

More: Tuesday's brief, crude oil chart, gold chart, War Room, markets.

Sources: CNBC (Bessent, Iran), CNBC (soldier arrest, Abu Dhabi talks), BBC (Justice Department charges), Fortune (Qatar), OilPrice.com (Houthis), OilPrice.com (oil, Hormuz), Reuters, AP and Kyiv Post headlines (not read in full), Yahoo Finance. Claims are attributed to the parties that made them. This is market information, not investment advice.