Good afternoon, friends,
This morning, futures rose slightly after Trump published an announcement 13 minutes after the close regarding a reassessment of the pause concerning an attack on Iranian energy facilities.
Trump emphasized that he is doing this 'at the request of the Iranians' and extended the pause by another ten days until April 6.
The Iranians' response is, of course, sour.
According to them, 'it never happened' – not only did they not request it from Trump, they are not negotiating with him at all.
The Iranians claim they have not even received a final answer regarding the Americans' first 15 demands.
Meanwhile, another report from The Wall Street Journal overnight claims that the Americans are planning to transfer an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East 'to explore further options.'
These forces are expected to join more than 5,000 Marines along with thousands of paratroopers already in the region.
This will raise the order of forces en route to Iran to tens of thousands of American soldiers.
In addition to the Americans, the United Arab Emirates announced that its navy is expected to join in securing the straits, unlike NATO countries which refused.
Trump is trying to hold the markets with one hand, and with the other, he continues to build up forces, preparing for a massive move that will include a ground maneuver on Iranian soil.
Here it is important for us to tell you something else,
It is possible that Iran is making a huge mistake by declaring that the Strait of Hormuz will never return to what it was.
Iran is trying to officially 'appropriate' the straits, to turn them into a source of income and a paid passage, similar to the Suez Canal.
Trump will never allow this to happen.
And if the Iranians do not back down from their position, Trump will have no other choice but a ground attack.
As of now, the market has turned red; the market is probably starting to internalize the bottom line.
Trump has no choice left?