Trump has stated that a failure to reach a nuclear deal with Iran would leave the United States with two distinct options, according to a report by the Financial Times. The options outlined are the potential military striking of Iran's remaining nuclear sites or the continuation of economic pressure against the country.

Two Paths Forward

The statement frames the situation as a binary choice for US policy in the event of a diplomatic breakdown. The two options as reported by the Financial Times are summarized below:

The remarks underscore the high-stakes nature of ongoing diplomatic efforts surrounding Iran's nuclear program. The Financial Times attributed the statement directly to Trump, reflecting a firm stance on the consequences of failed negotiations.

Wall Street faced a volatile week as the Nasdaq 100 recorded its worst drop since April 2025's tariff shock, ending a nine-week winning streak for the S&P 500. The selloff was driven by disappointing guidance from Broadcom Inc. and hotter-than-expected jobs data, which reignited fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike. The risk sentiment shift also triggered a sharp decline in digital assets, with Bitcoin experiencing its worst weekly performance since the FTX collapse.

Broadcom guidance disappoints

Broadcom Inc. reported earnings that beat expectations, with next-quarter sales guided to $29.4 billion against a consensus of $28.6 billion. However, CEO Hock Tan kept the full-year AI semiconductor guidance unchanged at "in excess of $100 billion." This conservative outlook failed to meet sky-high investor expectations, leading to a 12.6% drop in the stock on Thursday and a further decline of over 7% on Friday. The semiconductor sector, tracked by the iShares Semiconductor ETF, tumbled more than 10% over the two days, marking its worst drop since April 2025.

Economic data fuels rate hike fears

The May jobs report showed payrolls rising by 172,000, significantly above the consensus of 85,000, while revisions for March and April added a combined 93,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. Coupled with April CPI at 3.8% year-over-year—the highest since May 2023—the robust labor market data led money markets to almost fully price in a rate hike by the end of the year.

Crypto markets face bloodbath

The selloff extended to digital assets, with Bitcoin plunging below $60,000, marking a 17% weekly drop. This was the cryptocurrency's worst performance since November 2022, when the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX roiled markets. Strategy Inc., the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, dropped approximately 25% for the week. Chairman Michael Saylor disclosed the sale of 32 Bitcoin for $2.5 million between May 26 and 31, his first sale since December 2022.

Ford recalls SUVs amid market volatility

Ford Motor Co. shed 15% after a four-week winning streak, marking one of its worst weeks in years. The decline followed an announcement recalling nearly 420,000 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs from model years 2018 to 2022 due to a seat belt pretensioner defect. The defect can lock the belt during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. The recall includes approximately 14,000 vehicles in Canada.