On Monday, President Donald Trump issued a warning that the ceasefire in the Middle East conflict was on “life support” following his rejection of Iran’s most recent counteroffer, which stated that its armed forces were prepared to retaliate against any invasion.
Oil prices skyrocketed and hopes that a solution could be swiftly brokered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping were destroyed by the president’s irate response to Iran’s stance, which was given in response to a US proposal.
Trump declared that the United States would achieve a “complete victory” over Iran after denouncing the response as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” adding that the ceasefire that has essentially stopped hostilities in the Gulf for more than a month was nearing its end.
“The ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a one percent chance of living,'” he told reporters on Monday.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who served as chief negotiator in previous talks with Washington, said shortly afterwards that his country was prepared “for any eventuality.”
“Our armed forces are ready to respond and to teach a lesson for any aggression,” he wrote on X. “A bad strategy and bad decisions always lead to bad results — the world already understands this.”
The developments unnerved global energy markets already thrown into chaos by the war and the overlapping blockades imposed by Iran and the US in the Strait of Hormuz — a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments.
“The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the world has ever experienced,” the CEO and president of Saudi oil giant Aramco, Amin Nasser, told investors.
“If the Strait of Hormuz opens today, it will still take months for the market to rebalance, and if its opening is delayed by a few more weeks, then normalisation will last into 2027.”
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