Late at night! US-Iran negotiations, breaking news!

Trump Makes a Major Announcement.

Local time on April 5, U.S. President Trump said that he believes an agreement with Iran can be reached before April 6, as Iran is currently holding talks. Earlier, Trump also said that he would jointly hold a press conference with the military on the afternoon of the 6th.

According to CGTN News, on April 5, Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy director of the Presidential Office in charge of news and communications in Iran, made a stern statement regarding the regional situation and the issue of the Strait of Hormuz. Tabatabaei launched fierce attacks on U.S. President Trump and his policies on social media, accusing him of resorting to insults out of “desperation and anger,” and saying that his crazed actions have triggered an all-out war in the region. Regarding control of the Strait of Hormuz, Tabatabaei said that the Strait would only fully reopen after establishing a new legal framework and using past shipping-toll revenue to compensate Iran for all the losses it suffered in past wars.

As for the fighting in the Middle East, according to the latest report from CGTN News, in a statement issued on the afternoon of April 5, the Israel Defense Forces said it killed a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ oil division, Mohammad Reza Ashraf Kahly. The statement noted that Ashraf oversaw the commercial operations of the oil division, with estimated annual trade running into the billions of dollars.

Trump’s Latest Statement

On the evening of April 5 Beijing time, according to CGTN News, U.S. President Trump said that he believes an agreement with Iran can be reached before April 6, as Iran is currently holding talks.

Not long ago, Trump posted on social media saying, “April 7 will be Iran’s power plant day and bridge day,” implying a fierce bombing of Iran’s power plants and bridges. He also said, “Open that damn strait, otherwise you’ll live in hell—just wait and see!”

On April 4, Trump posted on social media, calling for Iran to “reach an agreement” or “open the Strait of Hormuz” before April 6, and threatening that “there’s very little time left—only 48 hours remain before all disasters fall on their heads.”

JPMorgan traders believe that unless the situation escalates, markets are expected to remain range-bound and volatile, but for now it seems that, with Trump’s final “ultimatum” drawing near, a decisive move in the short term is more likely—either toward moving into a ceasefire or into a new round of escalation.

JPMorgan said that the current market appears to be at a crossroads, facing a choice regarding the outline of the Middle East conflict (including how long it will last and how intense it will be).

A JPMorgan market intelligence unit said that if the next round of U.S. attacks includes ground forces, they are expected to conclude before the end of April.

BofA’s chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett pointed out in a new report released over the weekend: “Based on Trump’s approval rating trend, we expect the war to be short-term, and that the economy will not fall into a recession.”

IDF: Ashraf Killed

According to CGTN News, in a statement issued on the afternoon of April 5, the Israel Defense Forces said that in its airstrike campaign against Tehran, Iran’s capital, on the 3rd, it killed a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ oil division, Mohammad Reza Ashraf Kahly.

The statement said that the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ oil division generates profits through the sale of oil, bypassing international sanctions, to provide support for the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ continued operations and capability building.

The statement noted that Ashraf oversees the commercial operations of the oil division, with estimated annual trade worth billions of dollars. He helped develop the military capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional proxies in the Middle East, with top targets including the Houthi forces in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, and other organizations.

The IDF also said that these activities fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ ballistic missile and drone formations, and that these weapons have been used to launch attacks on Israeli territory and Gulf countries, as well as to strike oil infrastructure in the region.

On April 5, the deputy governor in charge of security affairs of Iran’s Khuzestan Province said that the international airport in the provincial capital of Ahvaz, where Commander Soleimani is located, was hit by airstrikes by the United States and Israel, and that airport buildings were struck.

The attack has not yet caused any casualties. The deputy governor of Khuzestan Province said that in the past several days, many areas of the province have been repeatedly hit by airstrikes, accompanied by multiple explosions.

Hezbollah: Israeli Navy Ship Directly Hit

Citing AFP in a report dated April 5, Hezbollah in Lebanon said on the 5th that the group used a cruise missile to strike an Israeli naval ship off the coast of Lebanon. This was the first time the group had issued such a statement since the outbreak of the Middle East war.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it struck the vessel at a distance of 68 nautical miles from the Lebanese coast, saying the ship at the time was “preparing to carry out an attack on Lebanese territory.”

Israeli naval ships have recently carried out strikes against Lebanon multiple times.

Also, according to a report on April 5 by Al-Manar TV, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, Hezbollah used a cruise missile to strike an Israeli naval ship, directly hitting the target.

According to information from Israel, the Israel Defense Forces later denied the report that same day.

In a statement issued today (April 5), the Israel Defense Forces said that since the start of the current U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, about 165 rockets fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon have landed in or near the positions of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The IDF accused Hezbollah of violating international law and said its actions pose a threat to the safety of international forces and UN personnel.

So far, Hezbollah in Lebanon has not responded to this.

That day, the IDF also announced a new round of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure within Beirut, the Lebanese capital. To date, the IDF has killed more than 1,000 armed Hezbollah fighters, including large numbers of armed personnel from its elite unit, the “Radwan Unit.” The IDF said that Hezbollah’s combat intensity has shown a downward trend.

Proofread by: Zhu Tingteng