Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel while Asian and European stock markets rose after US President Donald Trump said the war in Iran could end in “two or three weeks.”
Trump — who is due to deliver a national address later today — said that “we have had regime change” and that his “one goal” of ending Iran’s nuclear program had been attained.
He also said Iran’s military was so reduced that the Strait of Hormuz would “automatically open,” although the US would “have nothing to do with” that. Tehran also expressed willingness to end hostilities.
Trump’s shift represents his concern over the war’s economic fallout, Bloomberg argued, and his realization that events are no longer under his control.