Why reported Khamenei call for end to 'neither war nor peace' moved markets - a bit

By Steve Goldstein

This handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows (R to L) Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and National Security Council head Mohsen Rezaei during their meeting with Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister, Pakistan's army chief, and Turkey's intelligence chief in Tehran on October 26, 2026.

To the outside world, it's not even clear that Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, is alive.

But whether he is or not, Iranian news agencies reported on a meeting Khamenei had with Major General Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council, in which he reportedly called to bring "the current state of neither war nor peace to an end."

To be clear, the remarks indicated that the deal would have to be done on Iran's terms. One clause, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, is "safeguarding national and regional security by maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz." That may not fly with the Trump administration that has been escorting tankers, at great cost and peril, through the contested waterway.

The word "nuclear" doesn't come up once in IRNA's reporting. So there's a long way to go between these comments and any sort of U.S.-Iran deal.

That said, Khamenei's desire to end the conflict has not previously been articulated. And it comes after a four-way meeting between Iranian, Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish officials that also was held on Tuesday.

U.S. stock-market futures moved to session highs, though not massively, with the S&P 500 contract (ES00) recently up 0.3%. Oil futures (CL00) fell by 1%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD10Y eased by 1 basis point.

-Steve Goldstein

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-27-26 0745ET