US President Donald Trump said that the United States could potentially stop attacks on Iran within two to three weeks without the need for any formal agreement, even though the conflict continues to disrupt global energy supplies and weigh on the world economy.
The statement came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that no negotiations were underway with Washington, despite direct and indirect exchanges of messages between the two sides for nearly five weeks since the conflict broke out.
Trump’s stance appears to have changed when he previously claimed that Iran was negotiating and asking for an agreement.
However, the latest statement shows that the US is no longer making diplomacy a condition for easing the conflict, instead hinting that military operations will be stopped based on an assessment of Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and is not intended to produce weapons.
Foreign policy analyst at the Quincy Institute, Trita Parsi, warned that this conflict is not as easy to end as portrayed. She emphasized that the duration of the war continues to change and is getting longer, reflecting an increasingly complex and difficult-to-control situation.
According to him, the conflict, which was initially expected to be short, has now spread across the region with high casualties, especially in Iran and Lebanon, and involves ground military operations and air strikes that have also affected civilians.
At the same time, pressure on energy markets has become more pronounced as gasoline prices in the US have surged above $4 per gallon following attacks on oil facilities in the Gulf region and continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route that handles about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Amid the escalating conflict, Trump has also criticized traditional allies, including the United Kingdom, for refusing to participate in military operations to ensure freedom of navigation in the route.
He has pressured these countries to either increase their involvement or rely on energy supplies from the United States.
This situation reflects the escalating geopolitical tensions, with prolonged risks to the stability of global energy markets and the direction of the world economy.
