day one hundred-four (13. 508)

Again losing control of the narrative and lashing out with chaotic and contradictory claims of progress towards achieving a peace accord, Trump pulls back on his threats to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure and seize petroleum processing facilities, offering that a deal could be reached by the weekend, after first decrying news out of Tehran that nothing had been agreed upon and then accusing them of spreading disinformation with a leaks of the draft as a sign of movement. Unconscionably, world energy markets hang on Trump’s every word, valuations lurching wildly despite the lack of positive news (he has promised a swift resolution no less than thirty-eight times since the ceasefire went into effect) and minting former first buddy and race-baiting Space Karen Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire with his rocket company going public. Neither Tehran nor Washington have disclosed what the terms of the agreement are—which seems to largely hinge on Israel’s actions in Lebanon, the aggressor excluded from the negotiations—but the administration is conservatively saying still that a deal is imminent, though to my mind the odds are not convincing.