It's a dangerous moment in world history right now as we count down to Trump's 8 pm ET deadline for Iran to make a deal. So far there is no indication that Trump will move that deadline for the fourth time.
On the wires now, a 'senior Iranian sources' is out with some comments to Reuters:
- Pakistan continues to convey messages, but US has not changed its tone
- There are no negotiations with the US, which wants Iran to surrender
- If the US attacks Iran's power plants, the entire region and Saudi Arabia will fall into complete darkness
- Iran will not open Hormuz for empty promises
- Qatar conveyed Iran's message about striking power plants to US on Monday
- If the situation gets out of control, Iran's allies will also close the Bab El-Mandeb waterway
Iran has been working with the Houthie's in Yemen to close the Red Sea waterway. This would further hurt the freight market and force ships to sail through the Suez canal and take the long way around Africa.
S&P 500 futures are down 0.4% while WTI crude oil is up $2.34 to $114.75. Clearly the oil market has shown more concern in the past week than stock markets. They're likely to converge if the war escalates or de-escalates later. It's a good day to be dialed into the screen to wait for some real news.
