US President Donald Trump’s positive remarks about reaching a “deal” with Iran lowered tensions over a potential American attack on the Islamic Republic.
The comments were part of a surge in diplomacy aimed at averting conflict; Qatar’s prime minister visited Tehran, while a senior Iranian official traveled to Moscow. In a sign of confidence that an attack may be off the cards for now, oil prices fell and Gulf stock prices rose.
The risks of a US intervention backfiring on Washington are significant: Air defenses for American troops in the Middle East are still being upgraded, and analysts worry that military action against Iran’s regime “could hasten its collapse,” The New York Times noted, “with uncertain consequences.”