LiveTrump says US objectives in Iran ‘nearing completion’
09:53
Stocks slide, dollar advances after Trump speech on Iran war
Stocks fell, the dollar firmed and oil rose on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said Washington’s “core strategic objectives” in the Iran war were nearing completion but stopped short of providing a clear outline of when the conflict would end.
The prospect of the end to the month-long US-Israeli war with Iran has lifted global stocks and knocked the dollar off its recent highs in the past two sessions after a brutal March where soaring oil prices sent risk assets into a tailspin.
Mr Trump’s comments on striking Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks sent stocks retreating, with US stock futures down 0.67 per cent while European futures were 0.1 per cent lower.
The front-month Brent contract for June rose over 3 per cent to US$104.75 (S$134.72) per barrel.
Ahead of Mr Trump’s speech, Bloomberg reported that Brent crude declined as much as 1.8 per cent to $99.37 a barrel, after shedding 2.7 per cent on Wednesday.
The West Texas Intermediate, meanwhile, traded near $98.
READ MORE: Oil prices drop on hopes of a US pullback from Iran war
09:32
Trump blames Iran for rising oil prices, calls it ‘short-term’
In his remarks, Mr Trump blames Iran for the increase in oil prices and says the rising costs are “short-term”.
He acknowledges that many Americans have been concerned over the increases.
This is “entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighbouring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict”, he says.
He adds that this is further proof that Iran can never be trusted with nuclear weapons.
PHOTO: AFP
09:30
We haven’t needed Strait of Hormuz and we don’t need it: Trump
Moving on to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Mr Trump says the US does not need it.
He adds that it will open up naturally when the conflict is over, while also urging other countries to show “courage” and take care of the strait.
On Iran, Mr Trump says: “We’re going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.”
Iran has previously denied being in negotiations with the US.
“We have all the cards and they have none,” Mr Trump adds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
09:28
A nuclear Iran an ‘intolerable threat’, says Trump
Mr Trump says he is making this address to explain why Operation Epic Fury is “necessary for the safety of America” and the world.
Listing terrorist attacks and other acts carried out by Iran or its proxies over the past 47 years, he calls the regime running Iran “thuggish and murderous”, noting also a recent crackdown on protest in the country which killed thousands of citizens.
Leaders like these cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, he says.
“I will never let that happen.”
Iran did not give up on its nuclear programme and was fast developing longer range missiles, says Mr Trump.
They were “right at the doorstep” of developing a nuclear weapon, he claims.
09:17
‘America is winning, and winning bigger than ever before’, Trump says
Marking one month since the start of Operation Epic Fury against Iran, Mr Trump says: “Tonight Iran’s navy is gone, their air force is in ruins, their leaders, most of them… are now dead.”
He adds that Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed.
In his remarks, Mr Trump says that the US has scored “swift, decisive and overwhelming” victories in the war, including the deaths of senior Iranian leadership and the nation’s “dramatically curtailed” ability to launch missiles and drones.
“America is winning, and winning bigger than ever before,” Mr Trump adds.
“In these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield – victories like few people have ever seen before,” he says.
He also says that the US’ core strategic objectives are nearing completion, adding that the US is planning to hit Iran "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks".
PHOTO: REUTERS
09:05
Trump is addressing the nation at the White House
It is US President Donald Trump's first major national address on the Iran war since it began on Feb 28 .
Watch it live at the top of this page, as we bring you the key updates from his speech.
08:50
Oil prices drop on hopes of US pullback from Iran war
Oil prices fell more than US$1 early on Thursday as markets awaited an address to the nation by US President Donald Trump that could signal a US pullback from the war in Iran.
Brent crude futures fell US$1.16, or 1.15 per cent, to US$100 per barrel by 12.04pm GMT (8.04 pm Singapore time). US West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped US$1.41, or 1.41 per cent, to US$98.71 per barrel. Both benchmarks settled lower in the previous session.
“The overnight sell-off gathered pace on mounting hopes that the Iran conflict could finally be winding down,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
“The market is widely expecting a decidedly dovish tone.”
08:40
Can Trump pull the US out of NATO?
US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to pull the United States out of NATO due to its European members’ refusal to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz near Iran, as he intensified his denunciations of the military alliance.
Experts say it is not clear whether Mr Trump could act unilaterally to leave the 77-year-old trans-Atlantic coalition, even though he frequently makes major decisions without congressional approval, some of which are held up by US courts.
In 2023, Congress passed, and then-president Joe Biden signed into law, legislation barring any US president from suspending, terminating, denouncing or withdrawing the US from the treaty that established NATO unless the withdrawal is backed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
If the issue ends up in the courts, the challenge to Mr Trump’s decision would face steep hurdles. However, to date, no NATO member has ever rescinded its membership.
PHOTO: REUTERS
08:30
Britain to host multi-nation meeting on Strait of Hormuz shipping
Britain will on Thursday hold a virtual meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war.
The meeting will “assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities”, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped,” he added.
The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, said Mr Starmer. These include Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands.
08:00
Messy outcome of Iran war the most important lesson for S’poreans: Ex-diplomat Bilahari Kausikan
The war with Iran raises two questions: whether it was necessary and how it would end, says former diplomat Bilahari Kausikan in an Opinion piece for The Straits Times.
Nuclear weapons are not just any kind of weapon. Their destructive power is so great that any risk that a country will use them to destroy or intimidate its rivals, however slight, is unacceptable, he says.
All US administrations across both parties have been consistent in ensuring Iran does not gain possession, he adds, with the only debates being over how best to prevent Iran from doing so.
Was war the only way of stopping Iran? The record of diplomacy on the Iranian nuclear issue is not encouraging. That Iran had managed to acquire a large stockpile of highly enriched uranium shows Tehran had bamboozled the International Atomic Energy Agency, he says.
Some have argued that since North Korea has nuclear weapons, why couldn’t Iran? But there is no equivalence because Pyongyang’s primary objective is regime survival, not expansion or elimination of another state, so it can be rationally deterred, he argues. Iran also poses a global threat in sponsoring terrorism around the world.
How the war ends is less easy to answer. A negotiated end is unlikely. The US demand that Iran end all enrichment is unacceptable to Tehran as this will essentially leave Iran unable to deter future attacks.
The Iranian demand that its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz be recognised is unacceptable not just to the US but to the world because it leaves the world economy hostage to Tehran’s whims.
The messy outcome of this Iran war is the single most important lesson Singaporeans should take away, International relations are not sporting events with clear outcomes. Few issues lend themselves to neat solutions. The choices are usually not between good options and bad options, but between bad and worse options, he concludes.
PHOTO: EPA
