Iran War Will End Soon, Trump Says -

President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. military operations in Iran would end soon, a statement that helped calm global markets shaken by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Earlier in the day, stock markets dropped and oil prices surged after Iran — now led by Mojtaba Khamenei — launched another round of missile strikes targeting Gulf neighbors and signaled that the strategic Strait of Hormuz could remain closed.

However, U.S. markets recovered after Trump suggested the conflict would be brief. Wall Street moved into positive territory, and markets in Tokyo and Seoul also opened higher on Tuesday, even as the president warned the military campaign could expand if Iran failed to comply with U.S. demands.

Oil prices also reversed direction, dropping by as much as 5 percent a day after benchmark crude briefly surged above $100 per barrel — the highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“It’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder,” Trump said during a press conference in Florida, after telling lawmakers the operation would be a “short-term excursion.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded Tuesday by saying it — not the United States — would decide when the war ends.

Trump’s comments came on the first day in power for the 56-year-old son of the late leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian forces also launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.