Following the multi-billion dollar attack during the twelve-day war in June last year, he claimed to have completely destroyed Iran's nuclear capability. While preparing the least dishonorable exit possible after killing more than 170 civilians, mostly schoolgirls and their parents, Trump attempts a juggling act to confuse public opinion.
«Temporary» market changes
When asked about the market reaction to supply disruptions, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that «markets do what markets do,» and that prices have spiked to «send a signal to anyone who can produce more: please, produce more.»
«Prices have not yet risen enough to cause a significant drop in demand,» he added at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston.
TotalEnergies forecasts «very high» gas prices
The CEO of the French energy giant TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said on Monday that he expects «very high» prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the northern summer if the Strait of Hormuz, partially closed by Iran due to the war, remains blocked.
«If the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen, I can predict a very high price for LNG for the summer [northern hemisphere, June, July and August] and September, when we are replenishing gas reserves in Europe,» the French executive stated at CERAWeek in Houston.
«The consequence would not only be high energy prices, but it would also harm other economies, for example, the supply chain,» he added.
U.S. swaps wind projects for oil tankers
The United States announced an agreement with French TotalEnergies to end its wind farm projects in the country for nearly $1 billion, and to redirect the funds to oil and natural gas production.
The French giant had been developing offshore wind projects to produce 4 gigawatts (GW), including 3 GW for the New York Bight project and 1 GW in North Carolina.
Trump has long complained about the aesthetics of wind farms and claims they produce expensive electricity.
In December, the Trump administration halted five wind energy projects, citing risks to «national security.»
That order was later overturned by rulings from several U.S. federal courts, allowing work to resume.
Iran's Foreign Ministry and Parliament deny negotiations
Iran's Foreign Ministry and Parliament denied that the country is holding «negotiations» with the United States, as claimed by President Donald Trump.
«No negotiations have been held with the United States, and false news is being used to manipulate financial and oil markets,» wrote Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on X.
In turn, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagai denied that «negotiations or conversations with the United States took place during the last 24 days of an imposed war.»
Iran admits it received messages about dialogue with the U.S.
«In recent days, messages were received through some friendly countries indicating a request from the United States to enter into negotiations with the aim of ending the war,» stated Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagai.
48 hours have passed, and he claims he ordered his Secretary of War to halt all attacks on these structures for five days and that he is now negotiating with Iran.
The effect of these statements, denied by Tehran, was an immediate drop in oil and gas prices and a revival of the stock markets, which opened this Monday in a gloomy outlook.
Once again, without anything to prove it and without respect for the truth, the statements of the U.S. president, made casually on social networks and to the press, cause brief changes in the global market while the economic crisis seems no longer containable.
The statements of the U.S. president significantly affect international markets, despite the usual disrespect for reality.
«We have to wait for the situation to become clear,» Giovanni Staunovo, a commodities analyst at UBS, told AFP.
Around 4:30 PM GMT, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell 7.3% to $91.08 a barrel, and North Sea Brent crude lost 8% to $103.18 a barrel.
The effects of the Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran are decisive and are not reversible in the short term.
This may give it a relative advantage in controlling the international energy market, but for now, it has not been able to avoid the impact on the U.S. domestic economy, and citizens reject the actions in the Persian Gulf.
It seems that President Trump is not only trying to contain the widespread economic crisis but also to extricate himself from the trap he fell into by saying that his goal of preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons has been fulfilled and therefore the mission was successful.
But the truth is that the whole thing about Iran's nuclear weapons program was as fake as Bush's weapons of mass destruction.
Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP).
By Manuel Bermúdez and AFP
As has happened in recent weekends, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, made statements aimed at containing market volatility and oil prices, contrary to what he does on the weekend when he makes threats that cause spikes.
Washington, USA
Oil prices plummeted on Monday after President Donald Trump suddenly ordered to postpone the attacks he had announced against Iranian infrastructure, and stated that Washington and Tehran were holding «productive» conversations to resolve the conflict.
On Saturday, Trump said he gave them 48 hours to open the strait or he would destroy their entire energy system.
