US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran has delayed too long in negotiating a peace deal and will now “pay a price.”
“Iran’s military is a complete mess,” the president said. Said In a post on Truth Social. “Most of it, such as their navy and air force, no longer exists – they are completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action.”
Oil prices edged higher and U.S. stock futures fell after Trump’s comments.
U.S. crude futures for July delivery jumped nearly 2% to $89.72 a barrel, and international benchmark Brent futures for August delivery rose 1.3% to $92.74 a barrel.
CNBC has contacted the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment.
The comments come just a day after Trump said a deal could be reached in “two or three days” and that such an agreement would “immediately” reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
In a subsequent post on Truth Social, Trump condemned “The Fake News Media” for refusing to report “how effective the U.S. naval blockade is, the most successful blockade in the history of naval warfare.”
He added: “Nothing gets accomplished unless we want it to. It’s a steel wall! Iran is doing zero business, not paying their military or any of their bills, and is quickly becoming a failed state! Lots of oil is gushing out. Praise Allah!”
The US has tried to put pressure on Iran for a deal by imposing a naval blockade on its ports and ships. According to JPMorgan analysts, more oil is moving through the Strait of Hormuz than is publicly visible.
According to the bank’s estimate shared in a June 4 note, about 2 million barrels per day may be flowing from tankers that have turned off their transponders.
Tension increased in the Middle East on Tuesday. The U.S. military launched strikes against Iran, which U.S. Central Command said were “in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. military Apache helicopter.”
Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter and Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that no offensive military operations had been conducted in the strait in the past 24 hours.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
