Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes in Tehran on March 7. Oil prices tanked and equities rallied Tuesday following a wild day of swings that came after Donald Trump said the US-Israel war on Iran would be ending earlier than thought. As the crisis in the crude-rich Middle East continued into a second week, with seemingly little sign of a conclusion on the horizon, the US president said that the campaign was far ahead of his initial timeline of around a month.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force,” Trump told CBS News by phone. “If you look, they have nothing left.
There’s nothing left in a military sense,” he added. Trump told the US broadcaster that the United States was “very far” ahead of his initially stated war time frame of four or five weeks. He later told a news conference in Florida that “it’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder”.
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When asked if he thought the war could end in days or weeks, he replied: “I think soon. Very soon.” The US leader also threatened an attack of “incalculable” size if Tehran blocks oil supplies coming through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global supplies pass. His remarks come just days after he issued a statement saying Iran’s “unconditional surrender” was the only acceptable outcome for ending the war, which sent shivers through markets fearing an elongated war.
Still, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by saying that they, not the Americans, would “determine the end of the war”. Investors jumped on the comments, sending crude prices plunging around 10 percent Tuesday.
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