Stocks rise on report Trump may end Iran war without reopening Strait of Hormuz
The strait has been almost completely shut since the war began, halting the flow of oil and gas and sending prices soaring
The Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday morning after The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump told aides he is prepared to end the military campaign against Iran without first reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 400 points, or 0.9%,while the S&P 500 was up 1.2% shortly after markets opened and the Nasdaq $NDAQ added 1.6%.
The Journal reports that Trump and his aides concluded in recent days that a mission to reopen the strait would push the conflict past his preferred timeline of four to six weeks. Trump has reportedly said the U.S. should focus on its primary objectives — hobbling Iran's navy and degrading its missile stockpiles — before standing down, while pursuing diplomatic pressure on Tehran to restore the free flow of shipping. If that fails, Washington would push European and Gulf allies to take the lead on reopening the waterway, administration officials told The Journal.
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Military options remain on the table but are not Trump's immediate priority, the officials said.
Trump also posted on Truth Social early Tuesday urging other countries to take direct action at the strait. "Build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT," he wrote, adding that "the U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore." He separately criticized the U.K. and France for declining to join the U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran.
The strait has been almost completely shut since the war began in late February, halting the flow of Gulf oil and gas and prompting attacks on tankers attempting to navigate the passage. A Kuwaiti oil tanker was struck in the anchorage area of Dubai's port earlier Tuesday.
Tuesday's moves follow a volatile stretch in which Trump's comments about the war have repeatedly whipsawed markets. Last Monday, an all-caps Truth Social post asserting that direct U.S.-Iran talks were underway sent futures higher and pushed oil prices lower. The Wall Street Journal subsequently established that no direct talks had taken place — only back-channel efforts by regional intermediaries. Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf went so far as to post on X $TWTR ahead of that trading session, advising American investors to treat Trump's statements as contrary indicators and trade in the opposite direction.
Iran has continued to demonstrate its ability to control traffic through the strait even as Trump has alternated between threatening further strikes and signaling openness to a deal.