U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have crippled thousands of factories in Iran, and the damage is reverberating across the country's economy. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have lost their jobs, and millions more could face the same fate. Most damaging, Israeli strikes knocked out most production of steel and petrochemicals, causing a surge in prices for metals and plastic and threatening wider sectors. Things could get worse under the U.S. blockade. Still, Iran's leaders are betting that an economy built to be self-reliant under decades of sanctions can endure the pain longer than U.S. President Donald Trump.
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U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance says negotiations with Iran have ended in Pakistan after 21 hours without reaching an agreement. Vance spoke briefly to reporters after the talks concluded before dawn Sunday. Two Pakistani officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say discussions between the heads of the delegations will resume after a break. Some technical personnel from both teams are still meeting. The historic bargaining ended days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.
U.S. stocks rose, even though oil prices did too, as financial markets moved more modestly a day after surging on optimism about a ceasefire in the war with Iran. After beginning Thursday with moderate losses following drops for Asian and European stocks, the S&P 500 erased its dip and rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8% after Israel’s prime minister authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon. That eased worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday may already be in trouble. Oil prices pared some of their earlier gains but nevertheless remained higher.
U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his threat to hit Iran’s critical infrastructure hard if the country’s government doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Monday deadline. He said in a profanity-laced social media post Sunday that Tuesday will be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.” He also offered details of the rescue of a “seriously wounded” colonel who had been missing since Friday when Iran shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. Trump wrote that the Iranian military was “looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close” to the aviator. Trump said the other F-15 pilot had been rescued earlier in “broad daylight” after seven hours over Iran.
AP Wire
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an expletive-filled threat to escalate strikes on Iran if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. It follows the U.S. rescue of an aviator whose plane was downed by Iran. Trump on Sunday promised strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges. Iran shows no sign of backing down and has hit targets in Gulf Arab countries. Both sides threaten civilian targets. War crime concerns have been raised. Diplomatic efforts continue with countries like Oman and Pakistan trying to mediate. The war, now in its sixth week, has already caused significant casualties and economic disruption.
American employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February. And the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring marked a rebound from the loss of 133,000 jobs in February. The job gains were about three times what economists had forecast. The unemployment rate was down from 4.4% in February. But uncertainty surrounding the war with Iran — and its impact on energy prices — is clouding the outlook for the labor market.
There has been little sign Friday of the war in the Mideast winding down as Israel says it faced incoming fire from Iran, and Kuwait and Bahrain also reported being under attack. In Iran, eight people were killed while celebrating the close of Persian new year near a major bridge hit by a U.S. strike. Tehran continued to demonstrate its ability to strike its neighbors even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the threat from the country was nearly eliminated. Iran’s strikes on its neighbors along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world’s energy supplies far beyond the Middle East.
AP Wire
President Donald Trump lashed out at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war effort against Iran. The president on Tuesday told them to “go get your own oil” and said it was not America’s job to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the military could end its offensive in two to three weeks and that the U.S. won’t have anything to do with what happens next in the strait, which has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.
Iran’s Kharg Island is home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil. The Persian Gulf island has emerged as a focus of the month-old war launched by the United States and Israel. Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg — or a ground invasion — would severely curb Iran’s oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic. It would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf infrastructure. That would further drive up oil prices that already threaten the world economy. Other islands near the vital Strait of Hormuz could also be targeted.
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United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said Friday that while Detroit’s automakers have increased their wage and benefit offers, he believes the union can gain more if it holds out longer in contract talks.