After-hours surge! Oil prices plummet, European stocks open sharply higher!

Oil prices suddenly plunge.

In the afternoon of April 1, international oil prices fell sharply; Brent crude briefly dipped below $100 per barrel.

That day, Asia-Pacific stock markets broadly rose. Among them, the Japanese and South Korean markets surged; the Nikkei 225 index jumped by more than 5%, and the Korea Composite Index rose 8.44%.

European stocks also opened broadly higher across the board.

On the news front, according to an April 1 message from Iran, an Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said that Iran had stated its position to the intermediaries regarding “this war imposed on Iran.”

In an interview aired by Qatar’s Al Jazeera on March 31, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghtsi said he received a message from U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Witkow, but that does does not mean Iran is in negotiations with the United States. Claims about any negotiations between the United States and Iran by either side are not true.

In the Al Jazeera interview, Araghtsi said: “As before, I directly received Witkow’s message, but that does not mean we are in negotiations.” He emphasized that claims about negotiations with any party involving Iran are not true. “All information is conveyed or received through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and there is also communication between security agencies.”

Araghtsi said that Iran and the United States have never had “a pleasant experience” negotiating. Iran reached an agreement with the United States years ago, but the United States withdrew from the agreement. “We don’t believe there will be any outcome from negotiations with the United States; at present, the trust level is zero,” he said. “We don’t see any sincerity.”

On March 31, the White House said that U.S. President Trump will deliver a nationwide address at 21:00 U.S. Eastern Time on April 1 (9:00 a.m. Beijing time on April 2) to issue “important updates” on the Iran issue.

White House press secretary Levitt made the above remarks on social media, but provided no further information.

Earlier that day, Trump said the United States may end its military action against Iran within two to three weeks: “We’re about to leave soon.” He has only one goal: that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons—and “that goal has been achieved.” If an agreement is reached with Iran, the fighting might end even earlier, but even if the United States does not reach an agreement with Iran, the fighting can also end.

Late on March 31 local time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a video address saying that although Iran and the armed forces it supports “still retain a limited ability to threaten Israel, but they can no longer threaten Israel’s survival.” Netanyahu also said, “In the past, Israel was ‘fighting Iran alone,’ but now it is ‘fighting alongside the United States’”—adding that this was “an unprecedented historic cooperation” between U.S. President Trump and him, and between the U.S. military and the Israeli military.

Netanyahu also said that Israel is building new alliances with some “key” countries in the region to deal with what he calls the “Iran threat.” However, he did not specify which countries were involved, nor did he provide more details.

Compiled from: CCTV News, Xinhua News Agency

Proofread by: Yang Lìlin