Trump's New Comments on War Lift Wall Street

President Trump on Monday suggested that peace talks were making progress, but he also threatened to expand bombardment of Iran should those talks collapse. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the US was negotiating with a "new, and more reasonable, regime," but he warned that a deal must happen quickly and demanded that the Strait of Hormuz be opened immediately, reports NBC News. If not, the US will end its military campaign by "blowing up and completely obliterating" Iran's electricity plants, oil wells, and the vital energy hub of Kharg Island, he wrote. The US also might hit Iran's desalination plants, he added.

The nature of the new negotiations was not immediately clear: Pakistan is hosting a forum of regional neighbors, though neither Iran nor the US was participating. A spokesman for the current Iranian regime, meanwhile, made clear that Tehran has had "no direct negotiations with the US," reports the BBC. Esmail Baghaei also accused the US of "constantly" shifting its public positions. "I do not know how many in the United States take the claim of American diplomacy seriously," he said. Still, Trump's comments on progress have boosted optimism on Wall Street, notes CNBC, with Dow futures up more than 300 points. On Sunday, Trump also said Tehran agreed to let an additional 20 ships traverse the strait as a "sign of respect" to the US, per the New York Times.