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‘Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday’: Trump's latest ‘hot air verbal intervention’ on Iran war
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
A day after saying he was further pausing the war with Iran upon a “request” by UAE and other American allies in the region, US President Donald Trump set out a tentative schedule for a renewed threat on Tuesday.
“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, as per news agency Bloomberg.
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.”
Market watchers have called it “hot air”.
What comments mean
Trump’s 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 programme after weeks of strikes that began in late February. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for energy, not for a bomb.
But Trump has repeatedly threatened since a truce was agreed on April 8, and then backed off.
The conflict's nub is now the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for oil and gas flows, causing global energy prices and inflation to surge.
Despite losing many of its senior leaders and many military assets to US and Israeli bombing, Iran’s regime has survived and frustrated US officials by maintaining a chokehold over the strait.
This has pushed fuel pump prices in the US to spike to their highest in almost four years as crude prices rise.
Trump said on Monday he held off on a new bombardment of Iran planned for Tuesday at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He has previously attributed such shifts in his stance on the Iran war to requests from allies and partners, including mediator Pakistan.
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.
What analysts say
While Trump regularly moves financial markets with his comments about Iran, market analysts said some of that impact is fading as the president issues threats that he doesn’t follow through on.
“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,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB AB, to Bloomberg.
“As far as we can see, there has been no real progress in the negotiations between the US and Iran, with both sides still standing by their previous demands,” he added.
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.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog announced late Monday that normal power had been restored at Barakah, easing safety concerns over the Middle East’s biggest atomic plant.
Tehran has signaled it could again strike its Gulf neighbors if the US renews its attacks.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, called on European partners to join the US in action against Iran, in his G-7 speech.
The US military's Central Command has, however, redirected 88 vessels and disabled four while enforcing its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a post on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to visit China on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he is expected to discuss the Iran war with Xi, who recently hosted Trump.
