Trump shelves military strike ultimatum on Iran, but not before South-east Asian markets hit the skids

[SINGAPORE] South-east Asia’s markets reeled on Monday (Mar 23) after US President Donald Trump and the Iranian leadership exchanged threats that would take war in the Middle-East to a highly dangerous level.

Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it did not open fully the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, which drew a counter threat from Iran that it would hit all Gulf states’ energy infrastructure. Such a terrifying scenario would cripple oil flows from the Middle East for a long time and ratchet up global inflation.

Trump, however, dialed back on his threat after market closed in Asia, posting on Truth Social that he had ordered the US military to postpone any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, following two days of “very good and productive conversations” between the US and Iran “regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle-East”.

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