Topline
President Donald Trump said he wasn’t worried about oil prices and “couldn’t care less” about ongoing peace negotiations with Iran, which the country suspended Monday, citing ongoing attacks from Israel in Lebanon in a move that derails a peace deal that appeared closer than ever.
Key Facts
Iranian state media on Monday said the country would suspend talks with the United States in protest of a widening ground invasion in Lebanon, Tasnim News Agency reported, about which Trump told CNBC, “I don’t care if they’re over, honestly.”
The president told reporter Eamon Javers he “couldn’t care less” about the suspension of talks but will ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “what’s going on with Lebanon.”
The ongoing conflict in Iran has caused a surge in global energy prices, but Trump said he wasn’t worried: “I think the oil will be dropping like a rock in the very near, you know, the very near distance,” he said.
The report of an end to peace talks prompted an immediate surge in oil prices: West Texas Intermediate futures jumped 7.9% to $94.27 and Brent crude futures went up 6.9% as of 10:30 a.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, Iranian negotiators lamented ongoing fighting in Lebanon in posts on social media Monday, calling them violations of the ceasefire.
Earlier Monday, the U.S. military said it intercepted missiles Iran fired at American troops in Kuwait.
This is a developing story and will be updated.