Trump says Iran war "close to over" amid hopes for more negotiations
On Wednesday, gold futures advanced for a sixth consecutive session, following a statement by the U.S. President on Truth Social: "Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!"
"We will consider when the Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!" the president added.
If confirmed by Iran, this would mark another significant step towards de-escalation, even with uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply flows, which has been effectively shuttered by Iran since the start of the conflict, leading to surging oil prices across the globe.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump is set to deliver an address to the nation, hours after claiming Iran has asked for a ceasefire, a claim Tehran denies.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian tells the American public his country has no hostility towards the people of the US, Europe, or its neighbours.
The beginning of Trump’s televised address this evening has focused heavily on what he sees as the successes of this war and the necessity for it.
Within moments of beginning his remarks, Trump described "swift, decisive and overwhelming" victories in the war, including the deaths of senior Iranian leaders and a "dramatically curtailed" ability to launch missiles and drones.
"America is winning, and winning bigger than ever before," Trump added.
Trump quickly mentioned Venezuela, which he has repeatedly said in the past is a model for US military operations overseas. It was quick, "violent" and left an amenable government in place, he said.
That has yet to happen in Iran. The country has, at least publicly, refused to acknowledge that it asked for a ceasefire or that talks are close to ending hostilities.
Notably, Trump has yet to address the immediate need for an operation earlier this year, instead blaming past administrations for failing to act against a regime that has been a thorn in the side of the US for nearly 50 years.
Trump notes that in his first term, he presided over the US assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, whom he calls "the father of the roadside bomb".
Trump says if Soleimani were still alive, "we would have had probably a different conversation tonight, but you know what we would still be winning and winning big".
Trump says he’s making this address to explain why Epic Fury is "necessary for the safety of America" and the world.
Listing terrorist attacks and other acts carried out by Iran or its proxies over the past 47 years, he called the regime running the country thuggish and murderous, pointing also to a recent crackdown on protests in the country, which killed thousands of citizens.
Leaders like this cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, he said.
"I will never let that happen."
As expected, Trump declares the US is "nearing completion" of its various military objectives, and vows to "finish the job" in the near term.
Trump has also sought to lay the blame for rising petrol prices - a key domestic issue - on the Iranian side.
The president’s promise that the US is "better prepared" than ever to deal with the economic ramifications of the war, however, will ring hollow for his detractors and those who have opposed the military operation and argued that those threats only began when US and Israeli strikes began.
As he has in recent days, Trump also told US allies to "build up the courage" to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the US doesn’t "need it".
Some observers will immediately wonder whether any US withdrawal from the conflict in the coming weeks would mean that it essentially washes its hands of the task of ensuring freedom of navigation in the region.
Trump says the US is "systemically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders".
He says Iran’s navy, air force, and missile production capabilities have been destroyed.
"Tonight I am pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion," he says.
He says he has travelled to the Dover Air Force base to honour the 13 American soldiers who died in the war. "We salute them, and now we must honour them by completing the mission."
Trump also spoke about the US and Venezuela’s oil production, saying that the US does not need oil from abroad.
He says that countries that need oil from the Middle East should now take the lead to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Energy shipments from the Gulf have largely come to a standstill after Iran retaliated against the US-Israeli strikes by threatening to attack vessels that try to cross the Strait of Hormuz - a critical trade waterway.
Trump says: "To those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran… build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it."
Trump also calls for countries to buy US oil instead.
Trump says the US is unstoppable as a military force. He says the war is "a true investment" for American children and the future generation.
He then mentions the lengths of wars in the 20th and 21st centuries, going on for years, but says this conflict has gone on for only 32 days.
Trump says Americans are no longer under threat from Iranian aggression and "the spectre of nuclear blackmail," and the US will be "safer, stronger, more prosperous" than it has ever been.
The president has concluded his remarks.
I observe that his address today seems to be a part of an old saga that he has been singing since the beginning of this war with Iran, as on completion of his address today, Brent crude oil futures have surged more than 5%, and have regained $105.61 levels.
Gold futures, after opening the day at $4,807.67, tested the day’s high at $4,823.87 and the day’s low at $4,700.5, and are trading at $4,732, indicating an elevated indecisiveness likely to continue.
Growing indecision could lead to selling if gold tests the 100 EMA ($4,621) today. Gold met resistance at the 20 EMA ($4,759), and after the 9 EMA ($4,668) was breached on March 13, 2026, futures fell sharply, bottoming at $4,100.20 on March 23, 2026.
Undoubtedly, despite a sharp reversal, gold futures were not to move above the 50 EMA ($4,810.97) on Wednesday, and met with a selling spree soon after the completion of the address to the nation by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Disclaimer: Readers are advised to take any position in gold futures at their own risk, as this analysis is based only on observations.
