Donald Trump’s blistering post on Truth Social on 13 June marked “day 61” of a self‑imposed ultimatum for Iran to seal a fresh nuclear deal – a deadline he insists Tehran blatantly ignored.
His message came hot on the heels of Israel’s dramatic Operation Rising Lion airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military sites in the early hours of Friday morning.
Two months earlier, in early April, Trump proclaimed a 60‑day window for Iranian negotiators to “make a deal” or face consequences. He claimed to have offered “chance after chance”, only to see Iran “just couldn’t get it done”.
This fresh ultimatum echoes his 2018 withdrawal from the JCPOA, when he tore up the landmark accord and re‑imposed sanctions – a move that sent Tehran racing to expand its enrichment capacity under heavy Western scrutiny.
Since the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran’s nuclear programme has oscillated between cooperation and confrontation.
Under the JCPOA, Iran capped enrichment at 3.67 per cent uranium‑235, but U.S. withdrawal in May 2018 unleashed snap‑back sanctions that crippled Iran’s economy and drove Tehran to breach many of its commitments.
Despite intermittent diplomatic overtures, mistrust has re‑ignited the standoff that now teeters on open conflict.
Israel’s Operation Rising Lion – the largest strike on Iran since the 1980–88 Iran‑Iraq War – saw over 200 Israeli aircraft drop more than 330 munitions on approximately 100 targets, including the Fordow and Natanz enrichment facilities and residences of top IRGC commanders.
Iran reported upwards of 90 fatalities and over 329 injuries, while two Israeli F‑35s were lost.
Tehran swiftly responded with Operation True Promise III, unleashing more than 150 ballistic missiles and 100 drones toward Israel. Though most were intercepted, Israeli authorities confirmed at least five wounded and widespread air‑raid alarms.
The tit‑for‑tat exchange has now drawn in the U.S. and regional proxies, heightening fears of a broader conflagration.
Global markets reacted violently: oil prices spiked over 7 per cent in intra‑day trading, with Brent briefly surging towards $100 a barrel amid Strait of Hormuz closure fears; U.S. stock futures fell by 1.5 per cent, while safe‑haven assets like gold and Treasuries soared.
For a nation like Nigeria, heavily reliant on oil revenues, even fleeting supply shocks can fan inflationary pressures and destabilise public finances.
Yet even as Trump boasts of “lethal military equipment” and threatens that “they are all DEAD now”, his cherry‑picked statistics and apocalyptic tone betray a reckless brinkmanship that risks global security for partisan applause.
With Tehran already reeling under sanctions and Israel rattling sabres, such taunts can only harden Iran’s resolve or invite miscalculation.
As the UN Security Council convenes an emergency session, the world watches to see whether diplomacy can wrest back the reins from the precipice.
For Nigerians – mindful of regional instability and economic volatility – the stakes could scarcely be higher: a wider Middle East war would reverberate through oil markets, global supply chains, and the precarious architecture of international law.
