The World in Brief from The Economist

Oil prices rise; Trump unveils new tariffs on pharmaceuticalsAmerica’s main oil benchmark rose to its highest level since mid-2022 on Thursday after Donald Trump warned in a televised address that he would hit Iran “extremely hard”; Mr Trump unveiled tariffs of up to 100% on some branded drugs, targeting pharmaceutical companies that have not lowered prices or increased manufacturing in America.

In a televised address, Donald Trump said “we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly” in Iran. Also, Mr Trump’s speech did little to soothe oil prices or stockmarkets.

In a prime-time address, Donald Trump said “we are on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly” in Iran.

Donald Trump told Reuters, a news agency, he no longer cared about Iran’s enriched uranium, despite previously arguing the war was about stopping a nuclear threat; American stocks rose as investors became more hopeful of a ceasefire between America and Iran.

Donald Trump said America could end its war against Iran in two or three weeks, whether “we have a deal or not”. Also, Asian and European stocks surged in response to the comments from America and Iran.

America’s war secretary, Pete Hegseth, implored Iran’s leaders to make a deal with Donald Trump, saying the country faced a “new regime”.

America’s war secretary implored Iran’s leaders to make a deal with Donald Trump, saying the country faced a “new regime"; The S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices posted their biggest gains in months and oil prices fell.

An Iranian drone struck a giant Kuwaiti oil tanker off Dubai, briefly pushing up the price of Brent crude. Also, rising energy costs pushed the euro zone’s annual inflation rate to 2.5% in March, up from 1.9% in February and well above the European Central Bank’s target of 2%.