Trump warns Iran of ‘really bad things’ if there’s no deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One before departing Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on February 19, 2026.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Oil prices were hovering near six-month highs on Friday after US President Donald Trump warned Iran that “really bad things” would happen if a deal was not reached on its nuclear program.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for April delivery were down 0.2% at $71.53 a barrel around 9:24 a.m. London time (4:24 a.m. ET), erasing earlier gains. West Texas Intermediate Futures contracts for March delivery fell 0.2% to $66.30.
Both contracts hit six-month highs in the previous session as energy market participants continued to monitor supply risks in the oil-rich Middle East.
The United States and Iran held talks in Switzerland this week to resolve a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program. But initial reports of progress led to accusations from Washington that Iran was not meeting basic US demands.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Peace Committee in Washington on Thursday, the US president said “bad things will happen” if Tehran does not accept a deal on its nuclear programme.
Trump added that the world will probably learn in the next 10 days whether the United States will reach an agreement with Iran or take military action. He later told reporters aboard Air Force One that he wanted a deal within “10 to 15 days.”
Brent crude futures for the last six months.
His comments follow a significant build-up of US military forces in and across the Middle East. reports The White House is considering a new military operation against Tehran this weekend.
Trump said Iran’s nuclear potential had been “completely destroyed” by US attacks on its facilities in June last year, adding “we may or may not have to take this a step further,” without giving further details.
Iranian reportedly In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, he said Tehran would respond “decisively” if it came under military attack.
The Islamic Republic has recently carried out military exercises in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, as well as joint naval exercises with Russia in the Gulf of Oman, also known as the Arabian Sea.
Naval units from Iran and Russia conduct a simulation of rescuing a hijacked ship during a joint naval exercise held at Bandar Abbas Port near the Strait of Hormuz in Hormozgan, Iran, February 19, 2026.
Anatolia | Anatolia | Getty Images
“Everything is ready for the attacks to begin, or will be ready by Saturday night, and then the window will open,” former U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro told CNBC’s “Access Middle East” program on Friday.
“That doesn’t mean it will happen right away. The president has stated that he is waiting to hear from Iran about whether it is ready to make concessions on its nuclear program, which Iran insists on,” Shapiro said. he said.
“I think that’s very unlikely. We’ve never seen Iran open to those kinds of concessions, so I think it’s very unlikely that they’ll accept them, which means the president will have to make that decision on military strikes in the coming days,” he added.
A ‘very well supplied’ market
While the Trump administration has said it still hopes to reach a diplomatic solution over Tehran’s nuclear program, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday it would be “very smart” for Iran to make a deal.
Morgan Stanley chief commodity strategist Martijn Rats said the oil market on a global basis was “very well supplied” but there were three factors driving prices up.
Rats told CNBC: “There are obviously concerns about Iran. Also China buying unusually large quantities just for stockpiling purposes. It makes you wonder what they’re going to do with all that stockpiling, and then we have very high freight rates.”European Early Release” on Friday.
“The most prominent factor among these three is, of course, the problem in Iran,” Rats said.
Stock markets have largely shrugged off geopolitical noise so far, Barclays strategists said on Friday, but tensions rose after Vice President J.D. Vance accused Iran of discussing so-called “red lines” as well as reports of increased U.S. military capabilities in the region.
“We believe that any strike, as was the case last summer, would likely have to be time-limited and with defined targets (nuclear, ballistic missiles),” the strategists wrote in a research note. he said.
“With midterm elections coming up later this year and the administration prioritizing affordability for U.S. consumers, we suspect their willingness to tolerate prolonged periods of significantly higher oil prices and potential losses will be limited,” they continued. “So if conflict is imminent, in our view, it will likely be short-lived.”
