President Donald Trump threatened to resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of the push for a deal to end the war, after he said he had just called off a US attack. According to reports from Business Standard, Trump told reporters on Tuesday: 'I hope we don't have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit.' When asked how long he would wait, he said: 'Well, I mean, I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Something maybe early next week — a limited period of time.' The comments once again raised the prospect of a return to active hostilities with Iran, which has so far refused to bow to Trump's demands to relinquish the remaining elements of its nuclear program after weeks of strikes that began in late February.
The Republican-led US Senate signaled opposition to continuing the war with a procedural vote on Tuesday evening that reflected deepening unease over a foreign conflict that is taking a mounting financial toll on Americans, just months before midterm elections. As reported by Business Standard, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana joined three other GOP senators voting to clear the hurdle and move toward a final vote on a resolution to cease hostilities. The war has shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas flows, causing global energy prices and inflation to surge. Yields on the US Treasury's longest-dated bonds rose to the highest level in almost two decades on investor concerns about the West Asia war's growing macroeconomic impact.
Despite losing many of its senior leaders and a huge amount of its military assets to US and Israeli bombing, Iran's regime has survived and frustrated US officials by maintaining a chokehold over Hormuz, pushing up fuel pump prices in the US to their highest in almost four years. According to Business Standard, Brent crude fell around 1% on Tuesday, trading above $110 a barrel following Trump's announcements late Monday. The benchmark is still up more than 50% since the war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and traders remain on edge about the possibility of a return to hostilities. Shipments through Hormuz have dwindled once again, though traders are closely watching whether the Nato alliance will help ships pass through the waterway if it isn't reopened by early July.
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Vice President JD Vance projected a slightly more positive tone on the negotiations, even as he, too, threatened a resumption of strikes. According to Business Standard, Vance said: 'We think that we've made a lot of progress, we think the Iranians want to make a deal,' adding that 'option B' was restarting the military campaign. However, market analysts said some of Trump's impact on financial markets is fading as the president issues threats then doesn't follow through. Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB AB, noted: 'These hot air verbal interventions from Trump used to have a heavy bearish impact on prices, but they now seem to have less and less effect, unless they are backed by reality.'
The shakiness of the truce was underscored on Sunday when the UAE's nuclear-energy plant of Barakah was hit by a drone, causing a fire at a power station and forcing engineers to switch on emergency generators. As reported by Business Standard, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog announced late Monday that normal power had been restored at Barakah, easing safety concerns over the West Asia's biggest atomic plant. Tehran has signaled it could again strike its Gulf neighbors if the US renews its attacks, adding to regional security tensions.
