President Trump spoke with the New York Post in some comments that are hard to interpret. He seemed to indicate that the US was negotiating with Iran’s parliamentary speaker, someone who was reported dead on the weekend but has continued to tweet frequently, including about market moves.

Asked about Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, he encouraged Iran to make a deal before it’s too late.

“We’re gonna find out,” Trump told The Post. “I’ll let you know that in about a week.”

That corresponds with the April 6 deadline Trump set. However the market isn’t sure how seriously to take that timeline given that he’s extended it twice already.

Trump also leaned into the regime change rhetoric, which is an odd one given that the Supreme Leader is the old leader’s son and the parliamentary speaker hasn’t changed, and is highly combative online.

“There has been total regime change because the regimes of the past are
gone and we’re dealing with a whole new set of people,” Trump said. “And
thus far, they’ve been much more reasonable.”

Asked about the new Supreme Leader, Trump said he’s unwell but probably alive.

“We don’t know. We think probably yes, but in extraordinarily bad shape,” he said.

In terms of the attack on an Israeli refinery, he said the US response would be coming ‘shortly’.

I don’t know if there’s anything new here that wasn’t in the Truth Social post earlier.

Notably, WTI prices are up $2.88 to $102.58 but US Treasury yields are down 8-11 bps across the curve, which runs counter to the recent relationship with oil. The S&P 500 is up 0.3% while the Nasdaq is flat.