Markets are warming up to the prospect of some form of peace agreement being reached in the not-so-distant future. These hopes were boosted yesterday as the US and Iran are reportedly on the verge of keeping the hatchet buried for another 60 days, subject to approvals by Donald Trump and the Iranian leaders.
Well, that did not take long, did it? The language of negotiation now includes the added lexicon of limited military strikes representing the unacceptability to the terms of whatever current thread holds up the rocky road to peace. The trading of airstrikes, the second time this week, has the US military shooting down Iranian drones and hitting a drone-control station after Iran had allegedly fired attack UAVs at US and commercial shipping, voices from Washington said.
Banking money is more tempting than cutting losses. Destroying is much easier than creating. Starting a war is much simpler than ending it. The military adventure in the Persian Gulf is contemporary proof of this. Twists and turns are integral to the ongoing conflict and to the peace negotiations between the US, Israel, and Iran. Monday’s sharp drop in oil prices, triggered by President Trump’s Saturday announcement of an imminent negotiated deal, was partially reversed yesterday after the US reportedly conducted ‘defensive strikes’ on Iranian vessels and missile sites, prompting Iranian accusations that the US had violated the ceasefire agreement.
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