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Trump Says Unsure on Iran Deal; Dismisses Oil Supply Fears

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US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was not sure about making a deal with Iran, while also dismissing concerns over higher oil prices and casting fresh doubt on negotiations with Tehran.

Trump made the remarks during a press conference in Turkey following the NATO summit.

On the prospect of a deal with Tehran, Trump expressed fresh doubts. "I'm not sure I want to make a deal with them... Let's just finish the job," he said.

"They want to make a deal, but they don't know how to make a deal, and then they go around shooting ships at night. I don't like that," Trump said, adding that Iran had undermined its own efforts to reach an agreement through recent attacks.

Responding to questions about the nearly 7% rise in WTI and Brent crude futures, Trump dismissed the rally as temporary and said, "The prices of oil are dropping like a rock now, they'll be up a little bit, and this will end very quickly."

Trump also rejected concerns over tighter crude supplies, saying, "... we have an oil glut right now," and predicted the market would remain well supplied.

In earlier remarks along the sidelines of the summit, Trump mentioned the US would hit Iran "very hard" on Wednesday night. Responding to a reporter's question on imminent plans of attack, Trump said, "I said we might. Yeah, we might."

"Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly, and will only make it safer, including for oil... We have a lot of oil, and no, anything that happens is going to happen very fast. We're not looking for long term," Trump said, arguing that any further military action would only improve energy security.

"The Iran war has been a tremendous military success," Trump said, reiterating that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said in a post on X that its naval forces continue operating across the Middle East.

"Today, more than 20 US Navy warships are patrolling waters across the Middle East as Centcom forces continue promoting regional security and stability," Centcom posted on X.

The latest developments supported oil prices, with Brent crude up 5.34% at $78.12 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate advancing 4.50% to $73.61/bbl in afternoon trade.

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US Treasury Revokes Iran Oil Sales Authorization, Sets July 17 Wind-Down Deadline

The US revoked its general license authorizing certain Iranian oil transactions and allowed a wind-down period through July 17, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement on Tuesday.The Department revoked the earlier Iran-related General License X and replaced it with General License X1, effective July 7. The new license replaces the June 21 authorization in its entirety.On June 22, OFAC issued Iran General License X, "Authorizing the Production, Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil, Petrochemical Products, and Petroleum Products of Iranian-Origin through August 21, 2026."However, Tuesday's license has revoked this authorization of new transactions involving the production, purchase, loading, sale, delivery, or offloading of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products, or petroleum products on or after July 7, except where necessary to complete the wind-down.The new license also excludes transactions involving parties in North Korea, Cuba, or the covered and Crimea regions of Ukraine, as well as activities prohibited under other applicable sanctions authorities.The US action followed reports from the British navy-linked United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency that commercial tankers sustained damage from unidentified projectiles in and around the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. Two strikes on tankers in the strait were reported on Tuesday, while another tanker was hit on Monday.General License X1 authorizes transactions ordinarily necessary to wind down activities previously permitted under General License X through 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 17, provided payments to blocked persons are made into blocked, interest-bearing US accounts.The White House did not immediately respond to' request for comment.Oil markets reacted sharply to the announcement, with Brent crude rising about 5% to $75.58 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate increasing about 4.7% to $71.80/bbl.