NEW DELHI: in a dramatic escalation that further strained the fragile truce in West Asia and sent shockwaves through global markets, US President on Wednesday said the interim ceasefire pact with Iran “is over” and ongoing peace negotiations are “a waste of time”.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit at Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday, Trump also threatened to strike Tehran’s infrastructure and seize the Kharg Island—Iran’s principal oil export terminal that handle 90% of the country’s crude exports.
When asked whether the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran was over, Trump said, “It’s a very interesting question. I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them... As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time.”
The comments came a day after the US launched a series of strikes against Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on three commercial vessels in Oman’s territorial waters on the southern half of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Iran has been warning ships against using the newly announced maritime corridor near the Oman coast.
Responding to US strikes, Iran said on Wednesday that it hit back by targeting US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait with missiles and drones.
The fresh escalation spooked global equity markets, spiked oil prices, and put the rupee under severe selling pressure.
Indian markets on Wednesday lost most of the gains made since a peace deal was brokered between Iran and the US, with the Sensex and Nifty tumbling over 2%. The two indices had gained 2.5% since the announcement of the ceasefire on June 15.
The Nifty declined 517 points, or 2.12%, to settle at 23,882 while the Sensex fell 1,677.12 points, or 2.15%, to close at 76,503.60.
Investors lost more than Rs 8 lakh crore as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms came down from Rs 480.20 lakh crore to Rs 472.02 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, Brent crude price surged more than 6% to $79 per barrel while the rupee declined around 0.71% to 95.50 per dollar.
Global markets were under pressure, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures falling 1% after key Asian markets including Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi falling 2% and 6%, respectively.