US President Trump says he'd rather make a deal with Iran and reiterates the US was set for the biggest attack since World War II against Iran, but they called and we're talking, while he adds they respect us

US President Trump says he'd rather make a deal with Iran and reiterates the US was set for the biggest attack since World War II against Iran, but they called and we're talking, while he adds they respect us.

Presidential remarks pairing a claimed imminent strike with an openness to negotiation fit a familiar pattern in this administration's handling of adversaries: maximalist rhetoric followed by a publicly floated deal track, with the 'they called and we're talking' framing typically marking the de-escalation leg. In comparable episodes, crude's geopolitical risk premium has unwound first, Brent and WTI giving back the threat-driven bid, with gold and the yen following the same direction as haven demand fades; the sequencing has generally been rates and energy leading, equities lagging. The tell in past cycles has been whether back-channel contact hardens into a named process, talks with a venue, intermediaries, or an official counterpart, since rhetoric-only de-escalations have repeatedly reversed on a single contradictory statement. Gulf shipping lanes and regional proxy activity are where escalation risk has historically resurfaced when talks stall, making freight and insurance pricing a cleaner gauge of residual tension than the headline tape. Confirmation from the Iranian side, or its absence, is the near-term follow-on; Tehran's public silence or denial has previously collapsed the easing narrative within sessions.