Iran war sends oil prices soaring again as Tehran downplays Trump’s optimism for a deal

President Trump reiterated his stance on Sunday that the U.S. has already achieved regime change in Iran and a deal to end the war could be reached “soon.”

Citing the number of Iranian leaders who have been killed in the month-long U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, Mr. Trump said the people now running Iran were “much more reasonable,” despite ongoing Iranian missile and drone attacks across the region and the fact that the Islamic Republic’s theocracy has signaled no public inclination to back down from the fight.

“We’ve had regime change,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.”

Asked whether there could be a deal with Iran this week, Mr. Trump said, “I do see a deal in Iran. Could be soon.”

Since the conflict began, Tehran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil typically flows, sending global oil prices soaring, but Mr. Trump said Sunday that relief was on the way in the form of concessions from Iran, starting with the imminent passage of more tankers through the waterway.

“They gave us, I think, out of a sign of respect, 20 boats of oil, big, big boats of oil going through the Hormuz Strait,” he said, adding that the shipments would be “taking place starting tomorrow morning, over the next couple of days.”

CBS/AFP