Trump Says Iran Called, Wants to Meet as U.S. Strikes Continue
Trump says Iran called asking to meet, even as the U.S. launches a second round of strikes and reinstates a Hormuz blockade. Oil sits near $80.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran reached out asking for a meeting, even as the U.S. military launched a second round of strikes on Iranian targets inside 12 hours. The comments arrived alongside a reinstated U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and oil hovering near $80 a barrel.
What Trump said
“We received a call just as I was coming here that they want to meet,” Trump said in a Fox Business interview before a roundtable event in Pennsylvania on defense and innovation. He added that Iran wants a deal but questioned whether Tehran was worthy of one.
Trump said Iran’s leaders “want to make a deal so badly,” but cast doubt on whether any renewed diplomatic push would succeed, saying he did not know whether Iran was “worthy of making a deal,” or whether it would “honor” any agreement.
Strikes intensify in parallel
CENTCOM said precision munitions had been launched against Iran’s coastal defense systems, and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island — small islands located in the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump added that U.S. forces would go on to target key Iranian infrastructure next week without a diplomatic breakthrough. “Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants,” he said. “Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
Tehran’s posture
Recent statements from Iranian officials portray Tehran as being prepared to keep fighting, but still open to the possibility of diplomacy. Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran must be prepared for battle while also using diplomacy to secure national interests.
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Why traders care: oil and the strait
The U.S. reinstituted a naval blockade on Iran after the Islamic Republic repeatedly attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is the choke point for roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.
Global crude oil prices ticked up Monday on news of resumed hostilities and have remained near $80 a barrel, up from the near $69 mark they were at in June. Any real move to the negotiating table would likely take pressure off crude; further escalation does the opposite.
Options market and stocks to watch
Energy and defense names remain the cleanest expressions of this headline. Watch for continued flow and volatility in:
XOM and CVX — integrated majors that track crude prints tied to Hormuz risk.
USO — direct crude proxy; watch for skew shifts if a meeting is confirmed or denied.
LMT and RTX — defense primes exposed to sustained CENTCOM operations and munitions replenishment.
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