Trump’s speech declares victory in the Iran war! Gold slips down 60 dollars, and oil prices fall below the 100 mark

U.S. President Trump delivered a nationwide television address from the White House on April 2, announcing what he called a decisive victory in the U.S.-Iran joint military operation code-named “Operation Epic Fury,” and saying he plans to end the U.S. military intervention within two to three weeks. Spot gold briefly plunged by nearly $60 to $4,737.15; U.S. crude oil and Brent crude both fell below the $100 per-barrel level, while Bitcoin remained range-bound around roughly $67,600.

Trump’s Speech Key Announcement: Operation Epic Fury’s Four-Week Results

Trump said that since the start of the U.S.-Iran joint operation on February 28, “our armed forces have achieved rapid, decisive, overwhelming victories—victories that very few people have ever seen.” In the speech, Trump went through the major military achievements one by one:

Iranian Navy: “No longer exists”

Iranian Air Force: “Reduced to rubble”

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): its command-and-control system is “being completely destroyed,” and missile and drone launch capabilities are “substantially reduced”

Weapons production facilities: weapon factories and rocket launchers are “being blown into pieces”

Iranian leadership: most have been wiped out since the action began, including the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

White House officials said the central judgment of the speech was to confirm whether the operation had met or exceeded all pre-established objectives, including destroying Iran’s ballistic missiles and production facilities.

Immediate Market Response: Repricing the Geopolitical Risk Premium

Trump’s speech triggered rapid repricing across three major asset classes. Spot gold suffered a near-$60 plunge in the short term, falling back to $4,737.15 per ounce. Previously, safe-haven demand tied to the ongoing Iran conflict had pushed gold sharply higher, but after Trump’s victory announcement, long-position profit-taking and sell pressure concentrated.

The energy market response was even more direct. U.S. crude oil fell 1.78% to $98.34 per barrel, while Brent crude fell 1.33% to $99.81 per barrel—both dropping below the $100 per-barrel support level recently formed due to constraints related to the Strait of Hormuz. The market began pricing in prospects for the strait reopening; expectations of restored energy supply directly pressured crude oil valuations.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, continued to trade around roughly $68,000, with no clear directional breakout before or after Trump’s speech. The cryptocurrency market’s response to this macro de-risking event was relatively lagging, possibly constrained by thin liquidity during the Easter holiday period and by heavily positioned short exposures that had accumulated earlier.

Iranian President’s Open Letter: A Narrative Framework for Diplomatic Counterattack and Proxy War

On the same day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian published an open letter to the American public on the X platform, presenting a completely different narrative of the conflict. In the letter, he accused the United States of acting as Israel’s “proxy” in the current military operation, questioned whether a “America First” policy truly serves U.S. national interests, and stressed that Iran’s military actions are all “legitimate self-defense.”

Pezeshkian cited the 1953 Iranian coup, saying that long-term U.S. intervention has been the root source of Iranian society’s lack of trust in the U.S., and he criticized U.S. attacks on key infrastructure as “constituting war crimes.” He warned that continued confrontation would worsen regional instability and raise global energy and security risks, urging the American public to reexamine the sources of information behind current U.S. policy toward Iran.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the core military objectives of “Operation Epic Fury” as described in Trump’s speech?

According to White House officials, the core objectives include destroying Iran’s ballistic missiles and production facilities, weakening the command-and-control capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and eliminating Iran’s long-range strike capabilities. In the speech, Trump claimed that all objectives have been achieved or exceeded.

Why did gold crash and oil prices fall below $100 after Trump’s speech?

Trump declared a decisive military victory and said he plans to end the operation within two to three weeks, directly compressing how the market priced geopolitical risk. Gold gave back its safe-haven premium, while oil prices were pressured as expectations for reopening the Strait of Hormuz warmed up; the market began repricing for a gradual recovery in energy supply.

Why did Bitcoin see a limited response to Trump’s speech?

Bitcoin held range-bound trading around roughly $68,000 before and after Trump’s speech. Liquidity weakness brought by the Easter holiday period, along with the large short positions accumulated in advance in high ETF exposures, are key market-structure factors that constrained a directional breakout for Bitcoin—making the direct impact of this macro event relatively limited.