Trump's Twists and Turns Over Iran Leave Oil Traders Hanging
The oil market is wrestling with Donald Trump's next act in the conflict between Iran and Israel, with the US president's every utterance over the fighting seemingly capable of spiking or crashing prices.
In a wild week, Brent futures have surged 11% from before Israel attacked its nemesis, but with sharp moves up and down from one day to the next.
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Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Situation at Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant is 'normal', Russian official says
By Gleb Bryanski ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) -Russian nuclear energy chief Alexei Likhachev said on Friday that the situation at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, where hundreds of Russian specialists work, was "normal" and under control. The Israeli military said at one point on Thursday that it had struck the Russian-built Bushehr facility, but later said the comment had been made by mistake. Likhachev, head of the state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, said on Thursday that any attack on the plant could cause a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster. Bushehr is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant and uses Russian fuel that Russia then takes back when it is spent to reduce proliferation risk. Asked on Friday about the situation at Bushehr, Likhachev told reporters: "So far the situation is completely under control, everything is normal. The night passed in the usual anxious but manageable atmosphere." He added: "We continue to work in pre-mobilization mode and very much hope that all our signals from yesterday reached the Israeli leadership." The "pre-mobilisation" comment appeared to refer to the possibility of evacuating staff in the event of an emergency. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that Russia has up to 600 staff at Bushehr, including 250 permanent workers and others on temporary assignment. He said Israel had issued a promise to Russia over their safety. Likhachev said on Thursday that some of those on assignment had been evacuated but the core staff remained for now. Russia, which has close ties with Iran, has warned strongly against U.S. military intervention on the side of Israel in the air war that began a week ago. Israel has stated that it launched strikes on Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran, which denies such an intention, has responded with drone and missile attacks on Israeli cities.
Bloomberg
18 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Speaks "There Are Many Targets Left"
President Donald Trump gave a national address Saturday evening on the joint Israeli airstrike on Iran saying "Remember there are many targets left" and that this bombing would be the most difficult by far. (Source: Bloomberg)
Politico
19 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump threatens more strikes against Iran if it doesn't negotiate a deal
President Donald Trump declared the U.S. bombing of Iran's three major nuclear facilities to have been 'a spectacular military success' during a Saturday night address to the nation, and left the door open to engaging in more strikes. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,' Trump said, and warned that the U.S. could still attack other, less significant targets in Iran if its leaders don't stand down. 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' he said. 'If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.' Standing in the White House Cross Hall to deliver a speech that lasted less than four minutes, Trump stopped short of declaring the U.S. to be at war with Iran, but his words made clear that he was willing to enter a deeper, wider conflict. In fact, the president seemed intent on trying to further intimidate Iran, a dramatic shift from just a few weeks ago, when Trump sounded confident that he was close to a diplomatic agreement with Tehran to further constrain its nuclear program. Trump asserted Saturday that there are 'many targets left' in Iran for U.S. forces to attack and vowed to go after them in short order if Iran didn't relent. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' he said. The remarks came a couple hours after the president's TruthSocial post announcing that the U.S. had struck three nuclear sites inside Iran. For several days, Trump had been dangling the threat of the U.S. assisting Israel's military, which does not have the kind of 'bunker-buster' bombs that were deployed in the operation Saturday night, to take out Iran's nuclear facilities once and for all — a consequence, he suggested, for Tehran's failure to reach a deal to curb its nuclear program. But the news that U.S. forces had carried out the strikes still came as a surprise, given the White House's statement on Thursday that Trump might take as long as two weeks to decide whether to take military action. With Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth standing behind him, Trump offered his congratulations to the military generals who helped plan the attack, the warfighters who carried it out and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he said he 'worked as a team.' Trump made no effort to justify his decision to a MAGA base that has largely opposed intervening in foreign wars. Nor did he address his decision to act without consulting Congress, a move, many Democrats on Capitol Hill have pointed out, that is unconstitutional. Rather, he announced that the Pentagon would hold a press conference at 8 a.m. on Sunday before ending his remarks with a word of appreciation. 'I want to just thank everybody. And in particular God, I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military.'
