On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had directed his military to prepare for new attacks on Iran this month, before deciding to call off the operation. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the FT said the IDF had planned for “a multi-day bombing campaign to take place on the week of October 10 that would have targeted civilian infrastructure such as electricity plants, as well as nuclear facilities and regime targets.” According to the FT’s sources, Netanyahu decided against the strikes because of the opposition of President Donald Trump, who wants to avoid reopening the war until after the U.S. midterm elections.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that indirect diplomacy with the United States was continuing. According to Iranian state media agency IRNA, Araghchi stated that “negotiations with the United States, conducted via mediators such as Pakistan and Qatar, remain ongoing without interruption.” The foreign minister also published an article in the Financial Times Wednesday, in which he argued that “false assumptions” about Iran were “dangerous.” Araghchi said in the piece that, although Iran was still committed to diplomacy, it had “no trust whatsoever in the sincerity of the US administration’s professed desire for peace with Iran.” This follows remarks by the chief of Iran’s national security council Tuesday that his government will not allow any amount of enriched nuclear material to leave the country, which some interpreted as a hardening of Tehran’s stance on the issue.
Brent crude opened around $109 per barrel Wednesday morning. AAA reports that the average price of regular gasoline in the United States is $4.26 per gallon, and the average price of diesel is $6.32 per gallon.
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