U.S. President Donald Trump again changed his stance on promised strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, when he announced on March 26 that he will pause attacks on Iran’s energy plants for 10 days at Tehran’s request. He also claimed that “talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.”
Iran has continued to deny that any meaningful negotiations are underway. And a Wall Street Journal article quotes a source involved in the mediation, who says Iran did not request the moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes. While the truth behind Trump’s claims of ongoing negotiations remains unclear, some are pointing to the attempt to manipulate stock and oil markets through the release of moderately good news.
Over the recent days, markets have tended to jump at Trump’s every word. His March 26 announcement came only hours after the S&P 500 closed down 1.7%, the Dow Jones down 1%, and the Nasdaq composite down 2.4%. Despite a hoped-for reprieve after the extension, stocks plunged by similar amounts on Friday, prompting analysts to point out that the leading markets have now entered a “correction”—or greater than a 10% collapse.
