Commentary: More bluster, some concessions but still no real plan for Iran war

SINGAPORE: “Eviscerated.” “Overwhelming.” “Bombed back to the Stone Age.” Much of United States President Donald Trump’s much-awaited speech to Americans on Wednesday (Apr 1) was given over to superlatives. But the answers to the questions on much of the world’s lips – when and how the war against Iran would end – were not forthcoming. The oil and stock markets, early and mostly reliable indicators of how news is received, delivered their verdicts: Brent crude rose over 6 per cent, to US$107.50 a barrel at the time of writing; Asian stock markets reversed the gains they racked up on Tuesday – which were made in anticipation of a speech that would perhaps mark the beginning of the end of the war.