A day after the US hit Iran in response to attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran aimed at ending the conflict was over, calling the Iranians “scum”.
“They're a bunch of scum. I don't like them at all. We've wasted a lot of time with them; they're incompetent," Trump said while speaking at a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara. “They want to eliminate me - the president of the United States. I've been number one on their list for years. We need to eliminate the cancer early - that's how I feel."
When asked if the ceasefire was over, he said: "In my opinion, it's over." However, Trump refined his messaging a bit, saying that "the negotiations can continue.”
The aftermath of Trump’s statement was immediately visible, with oil surged by more than five per cent and global stocks and bond prices tumbling. The price of Brent crude oil jumped 5.6 per cent to more than $78 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude surged 5.8 per cent to $74.55 a barrel.
Though the current volatility was still not anywhere near the peak of $120 during
the height of the fighting, it did bring some inflation risk into the bond market. Experts believe that though the exchange of fire would not last, they are sure that it will keep markets on edge for sometime.
"The main thing is really whether or not the Strait of Hormuz remains open and we still see traffic (and) whether or not oil can continue to flow," Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ in Singapore, said.
Meanwhile, Iran too has hit out at Trump, with President Masoud Pazakhian issuing a scathing condemnation of the United States. Pazakhian wrote on X: "The US government's conduct as host of the World Cup is consistent with its well-known foreign policy: bending the rules, bullying, creating obstacles, and cheating. Iran rejects such games. We stand firm for our rights."
Trump had acknowledged that the United States attacked "more than 80 targets in Iran" last night in response to an Iranian attack on three commercial ships. The Islamic Republic, for its part, responded by attacking "more than 85 targets" in Bahrain and Kuwait, claiming that a member of the Revolutionary Guard and two other people were killed in the American strikes. Kuwait's state news agency said the military had intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones without causing any damage.
