U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran has taken too long to negotiate a peace deal and will now have to “pay the price.”
“Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess,” the president said in a post on Truth Social. “Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore – They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action.”
Oil prices ticked higher and U.S. stock futures fell after Trump’s comments.
U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery jumped nearly 2% to $89.72 per barrel and Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery, rose 1.3% to $92.74 per barrel.
CNBC has reached out to the Iranian foreign ministry for comment.
The comment came just a day after Trump said that a deal could be reached in “two or three days” and that the critical Strait of Hormuz would reopen “immediately” after such a deal.
In a subsequent post on Truth Social, Trump denounced “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 THROUGH unless we want it to. IT IS A STEEL WALL! Iran is doing ZERO business, not paying their military, or any of their bills, and quickly becoming a FAILED NATION! Lots of oil is getting out. Praise be to Allah!”
The U.S. has sought to pressure Iran into a deal by imposing a naval blockade on its ports and vessels. According to analysts at JPMorgan, more oil may be going through Hormuz than is publicly visible.
Some 2 million barrels per day might be getting out on tankers that have switched off their transponders, according to the bank’s estimates shared in a June 4 note.
Tensions ramped up in the Middle East on Tuesday. U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran, which U.S. Central Command said were “in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter.”
Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, and Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that no offensive military operations had been carried out in the strait in the last 24 hours.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
