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Stock futures fell and oil prices rose after President Donald Trump repeated his prime-time speech Wednesday night on the Iran war, including his justification for the war and claiming the conflict will end “soon.”
Trump gave an address on Wednesday night.
Photo by Alex Brandon-Poole/Getty Images
important facts
Trump said that US military goals “are about to be met” and that Iran would be “attacked very, very strongly in the next two to three weeks”, although he did not go so far as to say that the conflict would end there.
The comments come after the president said Tuesday that the war would end in two to three weeks.
Trump, who has sought help from NATO allies to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route, claiming the strait will “naturally open up” after US involvement, recalled on Tuesday his demand for allies to “take their own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz.
S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures fell nearly 1% after Trump’s speech, while Nasdaq futures fell more than 1%.
Crude oil prices rose nearly 4% to their highest point in recent weeks after Trump’s comments.
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13. That is, how many American soldiers have been killed in the war with Iran. injured count More than 300 arrived by this week, although many wounded soldiers returned to duty with minor injuries.
main background
The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top officials killed in the early days of the strikes. Iran launched retaliatory attacks against American and Israeli assets throughout the Middle East, striking targets in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Trump initially estimated that the conflict would end in four to five weeks. By mid-March, the fighting clogged the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran effectively taking control of the shipping chokepoint through which an estimated 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes, according to the UN. international energy agency. Trump pressured NATO allies to intervene but failed to garner support. As allies faced fuel shortages from the inevitable closure of the strait, Trump criticized them on Tuesday, saying those who “did not participate in the collapse of Iran” should buy American oil or “must up some late courage, go to (the Strait of Hormuz), and just take it.” The same day, the President told reporters that the war with Iran would be complete in two to three weeks and claimed that the US had crippled Iran’s missile capabilities.
Further reading
Stock market hits best day in 10 months as Trump suggests Iran war won’t last ‘much longer’ (Forbes)
Trump tells allies to get their own oil from the Strait of Hormuz or buy from the US (Forbes)
