U.S. President Donald Trump said “significant progress” has been made toward ending the war in Iran, while warning that Washington could “completely obliterate” key infrastructure — including power plants, oil fields and Kharg Island — if an agreement is not reached soon.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump disclosed that the U.S. is now “in serious discussions with a new, and more reasonable, regime,” marking the first public suggestion of a leadership change in Tehran since the conflict began five weeks ago. His reference to a “new regime” implies negotiations are underway with a governing structure that was not in place when hostilities erupted in late February.
Trump also called for the Strait of Hormuz to be “immediately open for business” and warned that energy and utility assets could become targets if talks fail. He added that desalination facilities are also under consideration — sites the U.S. has so far avoided striking during the conflict.
The messaging creates a complex backdrop for markets. On one hand, the prospect of negotiations with a new leadership and signs of progress point toward possible de-escalation. On the other, the explicit threat to critical infrastructure underscores the risk of a sharp escalation if diplomacy breaks down.
Crypto markets reacted positively to the headlines. Bitcoin climbed above $67,600, extending its 24-hour gain to roughly 1.3%. Ether outperformed, rising 3.1% to around $2,070. Solana advanced 1.9% to $84.09, while XRP added 1% to $1.35. Despite the rebound, weekly performance remains negative across most major tokens, with bitcoin down 1.3%, XRP 1.2%, and solana 2.2%. Tron bucked the trend, gaining 1.3% on the day and 5.3% over the week.
The rally also triggered a wave of short liquidations. CoinGlass data shows that $9.32 million in short positions were wiped out within an hour, compared with just $207,000 in long liquidations.
In total, liquidations reached $340 million over the past 24 hours, with $242.25 million occurring during the earlier market drop before Trump’s remarks. The largest single liquidation was a $9.8 million BTCUSD position on Bybit.
