- When asked if an attack on Iran could lead to a long, drawn-out conflict in the Middle East, President Donald Trump reportedly responded that there would always be a risk.
- On Thursday, latest nuclear talks in Geneva between the two countries failed to reach a definitive breakthrough.
- Meanwhile, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has reportedly warned Trump that any major operation against Iran would be risky.
U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said on Friday that a final decision on whether or not to attack Iran is yet to be made.
According to a report from CNBC, the president said to reporters outside the White House that while he would prefer to not attack Iran, “but sometimes you have to.”
“We’re not thrilled with the way they’re negotiating,” Trump reportedly said, expressing his opinion on Iran’s leadership refusing to curb its nuclear program. “They cannot have nuclear weapons,” he added.
On Thursday, latest nuclear talks in Geneva between the two countries failed to reach a definitive breakthrough, even as Iran has maintained its right to enrich uranium, while denying plans to seek a nuclear weapon.
Risks Of War
When asked if an attack on Iran could lead to a long, drawn-out conflict in the Middle East, Trump reportedly responded, “I guess you could say there’s always a risk.”
“It’d be wonderful if they negotiate, really, in good conscience, good faith,” Trump said as per the report. “They are not getting there so far.”
Meanwhile, Pentagon’s top military staff, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly warned U.S. President Donald Trump that any major operation against Iran would be risky.
Reports from earlier this week indicated that Gen. Caine said any military action against Iran will be challenging, since the U.S. war weapons stockpile has been significantly depleted due to America’s support to Israel and Ukraine.
Market Reactions
Rising geopolitical tensions with Iran have pressured markets in recent weeks. Meanwhile, U.S. equities declined on Friday. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down by 0.88%, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 0.76%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) dropped 1.40%.
Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.
The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) was up by 0.44% at the time of writing.
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