Iran’s Tasnim news agency reaffirms that “there are no talks”, adding that US president Trump’s latest comments on the Middle East situation are all part of “psychological warfare”. That as the outlet cites a senior Iranian security official. At the same time, the official says that the Strait of Hormuz “will not return to pre-war conditions” so long as this “psychological warfare” continues.
At the same time, we’re also getting headlines now that Israel is conducting strikes in the heart of Tehran. So, is there really any material de-escalation?
Besides that, Iran’s foreign ministry is also stating that there have been no talks with Washington and is accusing Trump of buying time in a bid to allow regional de-escalation efforts to materialise.
Whether it is true or not, the thing is all of this is out there now. And the key takeaway for me is that Trump has signaled where his pain threshold for markets is. And in other words, where his pain threshold for this war is.
He’s looking for some way to put down the flames of war and that’s the biggest signal I would say. It means that we might not see a material escalation in the war rhetoric compared to what we’ve seen in the past few weeks. He knows that it just won’t work if they continue like this. So, he’s trying to propose a different solution.
But as mentioned before, the only thing that really matters now is what happens on the ground or should I say with the waters in Hormuz. Is it open? Or is it still in de facto closure? That is the main thing to keep an eye out for here.
