Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum, clearly a ploy to appeal to voters in the midterm elections; $100 worth of oil equals political suicide.
Meanwhile, Iran is becoming increasingly defiant. They've realized the US government has no credibility, and ceasefire agreements are utterly useless; they've attacked again in less than a year.
Therefore, Iran is determined this time. Forget negotiations; they want the US to pay the price—first, end the petrodollar!
Iran is attempting to drive up energy prices to precisely target the $60 trillion US stock market, which is heavily shorting oil, thereby severely damaging US wealth and credit.
Currently, stocks account for nearly 40% of US household net worth, far higher than the 10% during the 1990 energy shock.
If the stock market continues to slump, consumer spending could be 1.5-1.8 percentage points lower than currently projected, equivalent to a reduction of over 1% in real GDP.
So, is Trump really willing to risk a stock market crash by bombing power plants?
Stop it, Trump! Tacos aren't shameful! If the fighting continues, Putin next door will recover.