Trump’s Iran-war messaging collided with itself in a matter of days, as the president used social media to float de-escalation while the administration pursued steps that critics said pointed in the opposite direction. Friday, Trump wrote that the United States was “getting very close to meeting our objectives” as it considered winding down “our great Military efforts in the Middle East,” saying the war had already degraded Iranian naval, missile and industrial capacity and kept Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Even as Trump pointed toward a possible retreat, he also argued that the United States would not need to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz, which he said “will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” In the same message, he suggested U.S. assistance could come if needed, writing that help was not “necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated.”
The episode also played out alongside a sharp market reaction. The AP report said chaos tied to the strait’s disruption, an Israeli strike on Iran’s gas fields, and an Iranian retaliation that crippled a major terminal for liquefied natural gas shipments from Qatar contributed to a Friday drop in the S&P 500 of 1.5%, along with a sharp increase in U.S. fuel prices.
Within about a day, the administration’s actions and Trump’s own posts shifted toward escalation. The report said Trump posted Saturday night that the United States would “hit and obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless Iran opened the Persian Gulf for oil shipments within 48 hours, a threat aimed at civilian infrastructure. Analysts, according to the report, said a need for U.S. forces on the ground to secure the strait could follow if operations required it, even though the Marines described in the announcement were an expeditionary unit for quick amphibious landings.
The administration’s troop move came even as Trump was discussing a possible exit from the conflict. The report said the administration announced the deployment of three additional warships and about 2,500 Marines to the Middle East, described as the second time in a week it had said it was sending more forces. It also said the military was supporting the war effort with some 50,000 personnel.
U.S. policy towards Iranian energy exports likewise mixed pressure with market moves. The administration said it would lift sanctions on Iranian oil sales if the oil was already at sea as of Friday, a step it described as part of efforts to ease global energy prices by letting oil already in transit move more freely. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X that “sanctioned Iranian oil is being hoarded by China on the cheap,” and that “By temporarily unlocking this existing supply for the world, the United States will quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets.”
Bessent’s estimate was also framed as limited in time. The report said 140 million barrels amounts to only a couple of days’ worth of oil for the global market. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said he did not expect the temporary suspension would have a major impact on gas prices and that the strait’s de facto closure mattered more, telling the AP that “Prices will likely still continue to rise so long as the Strait remains silent.”
The contradictions also drew skepticism even among some Republicans. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina posted on X: “Bombing Iran with one hand and buying Iran oil with the other,” highlighting the tension between Trump administration efforts described as military pressure and steps described as enabling Iranian oil sales.