Trump Wants Iran 'Back To The Stone Age,' Moon Mission Liftoff

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2:01Find an independent agent at cinfin.com. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Alexis Christophorus. Here are the stories we're following today. Alexis, we begin with a major speech from President Donald Trump as the U.S. war with Iran nears the end of its five-week mark. In a primetime address heard live on Bloomberg Radio, the president defended his decision to go after Tehran's nuclear and missile programs more than a month ago. For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. But in the end, those are just words if you're not willing to take action when the time comes.

2:49And the president said the action he's taken is close to achieving that objective. But before that, he says there will need to be more action. We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. At the same time, President Trump says discussions with Iran's regime are ongoing, but he did not lay out a plan to convince Tehran to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The president had this to say to allies struggling to get fuel through the Strait. Number one, buy oil from the United States of America.

3:22We have plenty. We have so much. and number two, build up some delayed courage, should have done it before, should have done it with us as we asked, go to the straight and just take it. President Trump also says the loss of 13 U.S. service members in the conflict has only stiffened his resolve to finish the job. And Nathan, the speech is getting an anxious reaction in markets and in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg White House correspondent Jeff Mason says it's the kind of address presidents typically give at the start of a conflict. He launched this war four and a half weeks ago, essentially with a social media announcement.

3:59And yes, he has spoken to reporters and in that way addressed the American public over these weeks. But this was his first time coming out and laying out the logic for going into the war and laying out his next steps. And Bloomberg this weekend co-host Christina Ruffini says the president may have been sending a warning to allies as much as Iran. All those GCC countries, all those Gulf allies, all the Asian countries that depend heavily on oil coming through that strait, some of them who thought they had very close ties to the United States, are going to be in trouble if the U.S. is not there to finish the job.

4:34And that's going to fall to some sort of coalition of other nations. And you can catch Bloomberg this weekend every Saturday and Sunday at 7 a.m. Eastern on Bloomberg Radio and Television and the Bloomberg Business App. And as the war enters its second month, Alexis, reports from Iranian state media and residents indicate continuing attacks on civilian infrastructure, including homes, factories, and electric facilities. Iran's Red Crescent Society, which is part of the International Humanitarian Network, says U.S.-Israeli airstrikes have damaged or destroyed more than 90 ,000 homes, about half of them in Tehran.

5:05U.S. allies are meeting to prepare a diplomatic outreach to Iran, which is starting to operate the Strait of Hormuz like a toll booth. A Bloomberg investigation reveals how Iran-friendly tankers are being given secret codes and charged around a dollar a barrel of oil for safe passage. Reopening the strait has become a key priority for governments around the world, with UK Prime Minister Starmer pushing for talks. We're exploring each and every diplomatic avenue that is available to us. And the UK has now brought together 35 nations around our statement of intent to push as one for maritime security across the Gulf.

5:45The British leader has been a frequent target of the White House for refusing to join its war. Those talkstormer references are happening later today in London, and the U.S. is not expected to attend. And oil, Alexis, is surging following President Trump's speech, checking prices right now. Brent, the international benchmark, is up more than 7.5%, trading just shy of$109 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate is not too far behind, above 107. We spoke with Willem Sells, Global Chief Investment Officer at HSBC Private Bank. So everything remains about oil and energy prices and gas prices. So that has an impact on the producers versus the consumers.

6:24So a lot of Asian countries are being hurt by that. Europe underperforming versus the U.S. The U.S. dollar strengthening on the back of that. And so therefore, you know, sort of that diversification that we saw over the last number of months away from the U.S. dollar that being stalled, that then has an impact on the Treasury market. And together with the U.S. dollar being strong, you know, obviously holds gold back. But I think the sell-off in gold is probably done. That's HSBC's Willem Sells. Iran's state-run press TV quoted Foreign Minister Abbas Arakji saying Iran and Oman will decide the future of the strait.

6:59And gold declined after President Trump's speech offered little clarity on a resolution to the war. Silver also fell sharply. Spot gold tumbled as much as 4.3 percent, breaking a four-day winning streak. And those declines continue this morning, Alexis. We'll be keeping an eye on that as well. Meantime, on Capitol Hill, Republicans now say they have a plan and the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history and the deadlock over immigration enforcement. Bloomberg's Amy Morris has more on the plan for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson say they'll split the agency's funding, some money coming through the bipartisan appropriations process, and immigration enforcement funding coming from the partisan budget reconciliation process.

7:43Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham says Republicans will work on budget reconciliation to fully fund ICE and Border Patrol by June 1st. The chambers are on recess for two weeks, but both have pro forma sessions in which the bills can be passed by unanimous consent. A person familiar with the Senate's plans says the chamber may try to pass the bill then. In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio. All right, Amy, thank you. Turning to markets now, Wall Street's looking forward to Friday morning's jobs report. Here's a preview from Bloomberg's Charlie Pellett. It's expected to show payrolls rebounded in March after a sharp drop a month earlier.

8:20Eric Rosengren is a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He told us he's expecting a reasonably good employment report with a snapback and payroll employment and probably no change in unemployment. So that lays pretty good groundwork for the Fed to basically stay on hold. According to Bloomberg data, the economy is seen adding 65 ,000 new jobs with the unemployment rate holding at 4.4 percent. In New York, Charlie Pellett, Bloomberg Radio. OK, Charlie, thank you. And stay with Bloomberg for special coverage of that jobs report starting at 7 a.m. Wall Street time tomorrow on Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television and the Bloomberg Business app.

8:59Turning to the skies now, Nathan, and NASA has cleared a major hurdle in its first return to the moon in over 50 years. Three, two, one, booster ignition and lift off. The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins. The first phase of the Artemis mission was a success with the Orion spacecraft now in stable orbit after Wednesday's highly anticipated launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The 10-day mission will test key systems as astronauts travel towards the moon and back, a precursor to planned NASA landings later this decade. The program is central to U.S.

9:38ambitions to establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface.

9:45Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's John Tucker. Good morning, John. And Alexis, there's a report this morning that President Trump is weighing another major change in his cabinet. That story from Bloomberg's Monica Ricks. ABC News cites sources saying President Trump has raised the idea of removing Attorney General Pam Bondi in talks with senior aides. Bondi's already reshaped the department, aligning it closely with Trump's agenda and breaking from longstanding norms of independence. Still, the report says Trump has expressed frustration that the Justice Department isn't doing enough to target his political opponents for prosecution.

10:23Potential replacements being considered include Lee Zeldin and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Monica Ricks, Bloomberg Radio. The Senate is expected to try quickly passing a measure today that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security. though it's unclear how swiftly the house will follow to largely end the longest partial government shutdown in history. The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Amazon illegally refused to bargain with the union representing thousands of workers at a New York City facility. The ruling comes on a four-year anniversary of the groundbreaking union win at the Staten Island warehouse known as JFK 8.

11:00And it's believed to be the most expensive single house sale in history. Nick Candy has sold his family home in London's exclusive Chelsea district to an unnamed buyer. The price tag,$350 million. The British entrepreneur's property located on a two-acre site that once accommodated the residence of Britain's first prime minister. It's been landscaped to emulate a grand country estate. Global News, 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm John Tucker and this is Bloomberg Alexis. Thanks, John. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update, and for that, we bring in John Stashauer.

11:38Hot start to the season for the Yankees. They had a sweep in San Francisco and then took two of three in Seattle. Dominant starting pitching, especially from Max Fried and Cam Schlittler, both made two starts on this road trip, totaled 25 innings on the mound, scoreless in the 25 strikeouts. 43 points for Jalen Brown and the Celtics win in Miami, 41 for Victor Wembenyama, the Spurs won at Golden State. Kansas' Hall of Fame coach Bill Self not retiring. He'll return for a 24th season. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Support for the show comes from Public.

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14:22Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM, and around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg Business App. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. President Donald Trump took to the podium at the White House last night to try to assure Americans there is an off-ramp to the war with Iran. In a primetime address heard live on Bloomberg Radio, the president said the next two to three weeks will be key.

14:58We are going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast. We're getting very close. I want to thank our allies in the Middle East. President Trump, in that rare primetime speech, heard live on Bloomberg Radio, and joining us this morning is Bloomberg News Deputy Washington Bureau Chief Laura Davis. And Laura, we are seeing an anxious reaction in the markets to the president's address. What is he suggesting now about how long this war could last? Good morning. Good morning. He was a little bit nebulous about exactly how long this could last. He said that he's going to ramp up attacks in Iran over the next two to three weeks.

15:31And then when that period is over, he wants to see some sort of deal with Iran. But if that does not come together, he will look to target electricity plants within Iran, which would be a major escalation of this war. So we heard a lot of mixed messages from the president on whether he's seeking a diplomatic route or a military route, sort of saying he both were proceeding without any sense about, you know, kind of what clear objectives are there, what he's looking to see. while we're hearing more signs from Iran that they are not negotiating. They are not really kind of hitting back in this open letter to the American public from the Iranian president who said that the U.S.

16:11is taking a maximum disposition here and essentially suggested that they don't trust the U.S. in these negotiations. A lot of what you laid out there from the president is sounding similar to much of what we've seen from him on social media. Did we learn anything new last night about the president's war strategy or the objectives? This was, you know, what people were hoping to hear but didn't get a lot of it. The one key thing that folks have really seized on is about the Strait of Hormuz. They were looking to see if there's going to be any sort of plan about what, you know, whether diplomatically or militarily, to open that up to allow the flow of oil and gas through that key waterway.

16:49and said he completely passed the ball on to allies, saying that they needed to gain the courage to go in there and take the oil and that it was up to them to figure out exactly what the path forward is. He also suggested that the straightforward moves would open up naturally on its own. So again, kind of fearing mixed messages, but with no clear action plan from the president. Today, there's a meeting that led by Keir Starmer in the U.K. with 35 nations to talk about diplomatic options to get the Strait of Hormuz open. But it's clear that this is a process proceeding without the U.S. Without the U.S.

17:26and putting a lot of question as well into the NATO alliance. We heard the president ahead of this speech telling the U.K. Telegraph that he was strongly considering leaving the alliance. Does NATO look more vulnerable this morning after that speech last night? There's certainly a lot of concern within NATO about, you know, what Trump's approach will be, you know, following the Iran war. You know, Trump has basically used this as to say, look, European allies, you were not there for us when I asked for you. And so therefore I'm not, you know, wanting to support this NATO alliance. I'll note that formally leaving NATO would require Congress.

18:05So it's unlikely that Trump is going to be able to have the support at home to be able to fully officially pull out of NATO. However, he can do a lot to effectively neuter NATO, make it very ineffective. The big question here is what does Trump do in the event of an Article 5 event? That's that mutual defense pact that if one is attacked and the others come to its defense, that is the question of will Trump uphold that and what does he do in the event of a crisis or just to undercut or not those relationships on the world stage. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.

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19:25I'm Alexis Christophorus. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

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