Main developments
Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” the US’s war against Iran as the American military is “getting very close” to meeting its objectives. He also said he did not want a ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran.
US is deploying thousands more troops on three warships to the Middle East, as it continued to build up its forces for the war against Iran.
The S&P 500 closed 1.5 per cent lower on Friday and fell for a fourth straight week as signs of escalation in the Gulf, rising oil prices and the prospect of higher interest rates spooked investors.
Brent crude settled 3.3 per cent higher at $112.19 per barrel on Friday for its fifth weekly gain in a row.
Iran resumed missile strikes against Gulf states, with Kuwait saying an oil refinery was on fire following a drone attack.
Israel announced a new wave of strikes near Iran’s capital.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued another written statement to mark the Persian New Year, slamming the US and Israeli “delusion” that Iran would collapse when his late father was killed.
The world faced the most severe energy crisis in history if the conflict continued, the head of the International Energy Agency warned.
Oil prices fall after Trump says US considering ‘winding down’ war on Iran
The price of oil swung from a gain to a loss after Donald Trump said the US was considering “winding down” its war against Iran.
The price of international benchmark Brent crude, which settled 3.3 per cent higher on Friday at $112.19 a barrel, reversed course in after-hours trading and was 0.6 per cent lower at $108.
Trading volumes are thin outside normal trading hours, potentially leading to outsized price moves.
Strait of Hormuz ‘will have to be guarded’ by nations that use it, Trump says
Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz “will have to be guarded and policed” by nations that use it, though he said the US “will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts” if asked.
The president said in a Truth Social post on Friday that he did not think American help would be necessary “once Iran’s threat is eradicated” and that the policing task for those nations would be “an easy military operation for them”.
Trump reiterated that the US did not rely on the narrow waterway, which is a chokepoint for global commodities.