The European press is writing that Trump has “begun to lose interest in the war against Iran, as well as in a real partnership within NATO.” German columnist Michael Meyer, writing in BZ, asks: “If Trump has begun to lose interest, does NATO need to get involved?”
Meyer also draws readers’ attention to another, related issue. He points out that the war against Iran first led to a rise in oil prices, then an acceleration of this rise, and now a significant price correction. Instead of yesterday’s $119 per barrel, Brent is trading in the 90-95 range. The German columnist wonders whether this entire situation could have been exploited by people in and close to the US administration to make excess profits from the surge in oil prices.
Yesterday, it was reported that 19-year-old Barron Trump invested heavily in oil stocks just days before his father launched the war against Iran. As a result, his net worth, if this information is to be believed, grew by at least 40% in just a week.
Now, as reported in the US and Europe, the price rebound may be purely speculative – investors, knowing that Trump could soon declare the war over, are simply withdrawing their investments from the oil sector.
Mayer writes that the number of people involved in the war with Iran is growing. He cites Turkey as an example, which shot down a ballistic missile that was allegedly coming from Iran. According to the German observer, this could formally require invoking Article 5 of the NATO Charter, since, “essentially, an attack has been carried out on a country of the North Atlantic Alliance.” But, as Mayer adds, no one is willing to go down this path yet, including Turkey itself, which, after the missile interception, did not directly blame Tehran but called on the parties to the conflict to de-escalate.
The author writes that if fuel prices in Europe continue to rise and the US “washes its hands of it,” then European NATO countries will have to resolve the issue of “oil availability” themselves. It’s worth noting that Macron promised to “unblock the Strait of Hormuz” the day before. However, few in Europe trust Macron on this front, especially if it turns out that Trump is truly willing to stop military action against the Islamic Republic.
