The U.S. early Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the signaled the end of the ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn鈥檛 stop.
Iran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the U.S. of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.
Back-and-forth attacks, including on Wednesday, have , but Thursday鈥檚 appeared bigger all around. And Trump鈥檚 mixed messaging 鈥� approving back-to-back military strikes while insisting they don鈥檛 mean a return to full-scale war 鈥� is fueling uncertainty about what comes next.
Here’s the latest:
Global markets are mixed and oil prices rise as Iran and US launch new attacks
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the opening bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%.
Oil prices inched up again Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, rising 64 cents to to $78.66 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on Wednesday. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to prewar levels.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 54 cents to $74.06 a barrel.
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New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war
President says he believes the is over. He says he鈥檚 not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should 鈥渇inish the job.鈥� But he also insists don鈥檛 mean a return to war or long-term action.
The confusion and uncertainty in Trump鈥檚 and his leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.
The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the and bend to U.S. demands on its 鈥� something Trump has tried before.
Whether it鈥檚 a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions.
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