Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Just days after US President Donald Trump so eloquently threatened to “beat the f**king shit” out of Iran, he has again backed down at the last minute.
In the weeks after the war began on 28 February, Trump still had the power to move markets with his on-again, off-again pronouncements. But the news that he had decided to “cancel the attack” and give negotiations with the Iranians more time is unlikely to elicit more than a collective shrug by oil traders, let alone any drop in prices for struggling Americans.
Traders realised weeks ago that the President’s declarations are not worth the space on Truth Social that they are afforded. His Saturday night post was a classic of the genre.
“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” Trump thundered. But then came an immediate corner turn. “Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off,” he announced, claiming – with a characteristic spelling error – that “the perimeters [sic] of a deal” had now been agreed.
In fact, there is no indication that any breakthrough is at hand, or that a deal could emerge “rapidly”, as the President suggested. Instead, in a statement issued in Riyadh, the government of Saudi Arabia revealed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had strong-armed the President earlier on Saturday.
