President Donald Trump declared sweeping victory on the economy, energy markets, and national security Thursday morning, crediting his administration for a wave of positive indicators just days after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding ending months of hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a Truth Social post published at 8:59 a.m. on June 18, Trump wrote in all capital letters: “OIL IS FLOWING, IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON (THE WORLD WILL BE SAFE!), THE STOCK MARKETS ARE ROARING, JOBS ARE AT RECORDS, AND PRICES ARE DROPPING (AFFORDABILITY!). OUR COUNTRY IS STRONG, SAFE, AND RESPECTED LIKE NEVER BEFORE. “YOU’RE WELCOME!” President DJT.”
The post arrived two days after Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the memorandum of understanding during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles in France, following the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit. Vice President JD Vance also signed the agreement, with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signing on behalf of Iran. The deal calls for a 60-day halt to hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and the start of formal negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government helped broker the agreement, said the memorandum was signed electronically by the American and Iranian presidents and would “enter into force with immediate effect,” according to a post on X. The agreement lifts the United States Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports and authorizes the toll-free transit of commercial vessels through the strait for an initial 60-day period.
Vance said Thursday that the U.S. military had already begun honoring its end of the agreement. “On the blockade, CENTCOM has allowed north of a dozen ships to go through our naval blockade, and so we’re also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement,” Vance told reporters, referring to U.S. Central Command.
Trump’s claim that oil is now flowing follows months of disruption to one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade and a fifth of global liquefied natural gas shipments normally pass, had been largely blocked since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps subsequently mined the strait, boarded merchant vessels, and warned against passage through the waterway, while the U.S. Navy imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports beginning in mid-April.
The president’s assertion that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon” reflects the central nuclear provisions of the memorandum, which commits Iran to a “minimum methodology” for neutralizing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium through down-blending, to be carried out under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The 14-point memorandum, formally titled the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, stipulates that a final agreement endorsed by a binding United Nations Security Council resolution will only follow once early commitments under the memorandum are implemented.
Trump’s reference to stock markets “roaring” comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 52,000 for the first time in history on Tuesday, June 16, settling at a record 51,999.67 after rising 328.64 points. As of Thursday, the Dow was trading roughly half a percent below that all-time high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite remained slightly further below the record levels they had set on June 2, as both indexes worked to recover from a pullback tied to hawkish commentary from the Federal Reserve. Investor optimism surrounding the U.S.-Iran agreement has been credited with helping drive the rally, alongside a sharp decline in oil prices.
On falling prices, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline dropped to just below $4 on Thursday, according to the AAA motor club, down from $4.03 the day before and marking the first time the average has fallen below that threshold in months. Gasoline prices had hovered just below $3 a gallon before the first U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, before spiking to roughly $4.50 a gallon in May as the conflict disrupted Middle East energy supplies. Diesel prices have also eased, falling to $5.13 a gallon on Thursday from more than $5.60 a month earlier, offering relief to truckers and farmers reliant on the fuel.
Oil prices have fallen approximately 10 percent over the past week alone, though gas prices remain about a third higher than they were before the war began. Speaking Monday in France at the G7 summit, Trump said, “We’re getting close to the numbers we were before the war started.”
Economists have cautioned that regional disparities remain significant, with drivers in parts of the Great Plains and the South among the first to see prices fall below $4 a gallon, while prices on the West Coast remain well above that mark. The full effect of lower crude prices on retail gasoline costs typically takes additional time to materialize, driven by differences in state taxes, distribution costs, and refining capacity across regions.
The memorandum also addresses the broader economic relationship between Washington and Tehran during the 60-day negotiating window. Under its terms, the United States has committed to working with regional partners on a reconstruction and economic development plan for Iran worth at least $300 billion, contingent on Iran’s compliance with the agreement’s nuclear and security provisions. The deal further provides for the U.S. Treasury Department to issue waivers allowing Iran to export crude oil and for previously frozen Iranian assets to become available for use, with both forms of relief tied to verified steps by Tehran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing NATO on Thursday, said the U.S. military posture in the region would be reviewed over the coming months but emphasized that the blockade could be swiftly reinstated if Iran fails to comply with the agreement’s terms. “If Iran doesn’t comply, then we’re more than able to re-impose an iron-clad blockade,” Hegseth said.
Trump’s Thursday post extended a message he has repeated throughout the week, framing the memorandum of understanding as a turning point not only for the Middle East but for the U.S. economy at large. In comments to reporters in France earlier in the week, Trump described the agreement as “a very powerful document” that he wanted released publicly, distinguishing it from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration, which he has long criticized.
Final terms of a comprehensive agreement between the United States and Iran remain subject to the 60-day negotiating period outlined in the memorandum, during which both nations are expected to address outstanding questions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, and the broader security arrangement in the region.