Oil prices fell while cryptocurrencies posted modest gains on Monday after US President Donald Trump told reporters that war with Iran could be coming to an end — even as he later ramped up the war rhetoric again on social media.
In a phone interview with CBS News on Monday, Trump made it appear that the war in Iran was wrapping up. The US military claims to have struck more than 3,000 Iranian targets in the first week of operations.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Donald Trump told CBS News. “If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense,” he added.
The comments saw oil prices fall 28% from their four-year high of $118 on Monday to around $85 in the hours that followed, according to OilPrice.
However, in his latest post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump ramped up the war rhetoric again, stating that “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”
“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again,” the President added.
“Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
Trump’s comments in a Republican congressional fundraising event in Florida on Monday also hinted that the war may still have room to run.
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said. “We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all.”
Crypto will follow other risk assets
Crypto markets are up 3.1% over the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin (BTC) reclaiming $70,000, and Ether (ETH) is hovering just above $2,000 at the time of writing.
Augustine Fan, partner and head of insights at crypto trading software service provider SignalPlus, told Cointelegraph that it is generally “hard to take these headline comments at face value, especially with other members of his [Trump’s] cabinet stating that things are still in the beginning phase, and US military assets still deployed in the region.”
“Crypto prices will continue to follow other risk assets without a fundamental narrative of its own in the near term, and macro leadership will still be driven by oil, which has seen a +$30 turnaround over the span of just 24 hours.”
Related: Bitcoin relief rally faces headwinds as bear market persists: analysts
“We don’t expect the conflict to be resolved any time soon,” he said, adding that “we would expect tradable bounces and BTC to do relatively better as a potential store of value during these times.”
Potential for prolonged uncertainty persists
Meanwhile, Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue, told Cointelegraph that if Trump’s claim that the Iran war is almost over proves accurate, “I’m expecting a strong relief rally in crypto, driven by plunging oil prices, eased inflation/geopolitical fears, and renewed risk appetite.”
However, “doubts persist amid mixed signals from Iran and potential for prolonged uncertainty,” he added.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reportedly responded to Trump by saying that his comments were “nonsense” and “we are the ones that will determine the end of the war.”
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