Donald Trump has announced a ceasefire with Iran.Image: keystone
March 23, 2026, 1:05 p.mMarch 23, 2026, 1:09 p.m
What happened?
The USA does not want to carry out any attacks on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure in the next five days. US President Donald Trump announced this on his social media platform Truth.
How does Trump justify the ceasefire?
Trump writes in his post of “very good and productive discussions about a complete and final settlement of our hostilities” in the last two days. The US President tied the ceasefire to the condition that exchanges between the two countries should remain productive in the next few days. According to Trump, further discussions are planned.
Damage in the Iranian capital Tehran.Image: keystone
How does Iran react?
Iran reacted mockingly to Trump’s announcement. “Trump and the USA have backed down again,” said the spokesman for the security committee in the Iranian parliament, Ibrahim Rezaei. It is another defeat “for Satan” – by which he probably means the USA.
Does this mean Trump’s threat is off the table?
The US President had previously threatened Iran with the destruction of its energy facilities if the country did not fully and “without threats” open the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for the global economy, within 48 hours. This deadline would have expired on Tuesday night (Swiss time). Iran then threatened to completely close the strait in the event of US attacks. With Trump’s new post, the threat of this should be off the table.
A ship in the Strait of Hormuz.Image: keystone
What are the consequences?
Trump’s post caused a turnaround in the international financial markets. The financial markets react extremely euphorically to these statements: While the stock markets around the world are soaring, the price of oil is falling massively.
The Swiss leading index SMI, for example, gained 450 points to over 12,500 points within 10 minutes. The SMI is currently still 0.8 percent higher at around 12,430 points. At the same time, the price of oil (Brent) fell from over $110 to well below $100 for a short time; Currently it is almost 102 US dollars again, which corresponds to a daily loss of almost 10 percent. The massive losses of gold and silver fell to around minus two percent.
What are the backgrounds?
Iran, which was attacked by the USA and Israel, had repeatedly radioed ships in the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war not to pass through. Since then, Tehran has repeatedly attacked ships in the region – with serious consequences for global trade in gas and oil.
The strait is the only connection between the Persian Gulf and the world’s oceans and is considered one of the most important shipping routes in the world. Around a fifth of the world’s oil demand is transported through the passage. Most of it goes to China, India and other Asian countries. About 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade also passes through the strait.
People in Europe are feeling the effects of the de facto blockade, among other things, when refueling because the prices for gasoline and diesel have risen sharply. Experts suspect that food could also become more expensive. (dab/sda/dpa)