The conflict in the Middle East is rapidly expanding across the region as the U.S. and Israel-led war with Iran enters its sixth day.

Images published Thursday showed destruction across Tehran after nearly a week of strikes on Iran’s capital.

Iran has retaliated by launching a wave of missiles and drones at Israel, as well as targeting U.S. allies in the region.

Explosions have been reported in Qatar and Bahrain, while oil-rich Azerbaijan said it was attacked by two Iranian drones and Tehran claimed naval fighters had struck a U.S. tanker in the north of the Persian Gulf.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the Iran war could last for four to five weeks but warned the campaign could also “go far longer than that.”

Steve Eisman of “The Big Short” fame said investors should ignore the U.S.-Iran war as it could be a long-term positive for markets.

In fact, when the investor was asked Monday by CNBC’s Joe Kernen on “Squawk Box” whether he would change anything because of the conflict, he responded with, “Not a single trade.”

“I think long term, this is very, very positive,” Eisman said. “People react because of what’s happening, oil prices are obviously up. But if it goes well, two months from now, prices will be back to where they were.”

The stock market was in turmoil Monday after the U.S. in a joint attack with Israel struck Iran over the weekend and killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an assault that triggered retaliatory attacks from Tehran.

Historically, geopolitical conflicts have little lasting effect on stocks. In data going back to 1980, the S&P 500 on average is unchanged the day after such an event, according to Barclays’ trading desk. Studies show stocks tend to recover within a month after the start of a conflict.

But sharply higher oil prices, and the potential for the war to spread across the region, could pressure the stock market for longer this time. Stocks were already close to record highs ahead of the clash, but the pace of the bull market had begun to slow on concerns about artificial intelligence’s overall impact on the economy.

In expressing his own views on the conflict, “The Real Eisman Playbook” podcast host and former Neuberger Berman money manager said he’s supportive of President Donald Trump’s actions against a regime he called a “death cult.”

However, he also acknowledged the war may take longer than expected.

“This is going to take time,” he said.

President Donald Trump on Friday said that “I’d love not to use” the U.S. military to attack Iran, “but sometimes you have to.”

But Trump also said, “We haven’t made a final decision” on whether to attack Iran.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “We’re talking later today. We’ll have some additional talks today.”

Trump’s comment to reporters outside the White House came after he expressed frustration at Iran’s refusal to comply with American demands to curb its nuclear program.

“We’re not thrilled with the way they’re negotiating,” Trump said. “They cannot have nuclear weapons.”

“I’m not happy that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have,” Trump said, referring to that condition.

Asked by a reporter if there could be a long, drawn-out conflict in the Middle East if the United States attacks Iran, Trump said, “I guess you could say there’s always a risk.”

“It’d be wonderful if they negotiate, really, in good conscience, good faith,” he said. “They are not getting there so far.”

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has been mediating negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, met in Washington, D.C., with Vice President JD Vance and other American officials in a bid to avoid war.

A statement issued by Oman’s government after the meeting put a positive spin on those talks that was not reflected in Trump’s blunt comments.

“The meeting examined the indirect US-Iran negotiations sponsored by the Sultanate of Oman, alongside the diplomatic endeavours seeking to culminate in a just and enduring agreement concerning the nuclear file and to guarantee the peaceful character of Iran’s nuclear energy program,” Oman’s government said.

“I am grateful for their engagement and look forward to further and decisive progress in the coming days,” al-Busaidi said in a post on X. “Peace is within our reach.”

During an interview with MS Now, when asked if there was a chance of the United States attacking Iran overnight, al-Busaidi said, “I can’t answer that question, because I don’t know.”

“I think President Trump is sincerely passionate for a deal,” al-Busaidi said. “He wants to have a deal. He wants to have a diplomatic solution, and this is what we are trying to do.”

But Trump, in a speech later Friday afternoon in Corpus Christi, Texas, said of Iran, “We have a very big decision.”

“We have a country that’s been 47 years blowing people’s legs off, arms off,” Trump said. They’ve been knocking out ships, killing people, lots of people, not only Americans, lots of people.”

Trump said he wanted to “make a deal that’s meaningful.”

“I’d rather do it the peaceful way,” Trump said, while calling Iran’s government “very difficult people, dangerous people, very difficult people.”

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem earlier Friday authorized non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their family members to leave Israel “due to safety risks.”

Also Friday, the massive American aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, arrived off Israel’s coast.

Also on Friday, the State Department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would visit Israel on Monday and Tuesday to discuss Iran and other regional issues.