US President Donald Trump says the conflict with Iran may conclude in two to three weeks, shifting responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz to other nations as he prepares a national address.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump declared the war with Iran could be over in “two weeks, maybe three,” stating the United States would soon leave the country.
He made the remarks to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “We want to knock out every single thing they have,” Trump said, before adding that “it’s possible that we’ll make a deal before that.”
The White House announced Trump would give an address to the nation on Wednesday night “to provide an important update on Iran.” His comments have zigzagged between threatening escalation and suggesting a negotiated end to the conflict, which began with a joint US-Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader on February 28.
Trump also shifted US policy on the vital Strait of Hormuz. He said France, China and other countries seeking passage through the oil shipping channel, which Iran has blockaded, must now “fend for themselves.”
“What happens with the strait we’re not going to have anything to do with,” he said. In a social media post, he lashed out at allies who refused to help secure the waterway, writing, “The U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore… Go get your own oil!”
Financial markets reacted positively to the prospect of a resolution. US stocks surged and Brent oil futures fell 3.2% to USD 103.97 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi also opened sharply higher on Wednesday. In Lebanon, the health ministry said seven people were killed in Israeli strikes near Beirut.
The Israeli military said it struck a senior Hezbollah commander. Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed group has left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, according to authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint campaign had “changed the face of the Middle East.” He vowed forces “will continue to crush the terror regime” in Tehran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had the “necessary will” to end the war if its enemies guaranteed it would not flare up again. The country has denied it is in negotiations with the US.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened retaliation against major US tech firms like Google and Apple if more Iranian leaders were assassinated. They warned 18 companies, including Intel and Tesla, could face “destruction.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, after visiting troops in the region, vowed “the upcoming days will be decisive.” Heavy strikes were reported in the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Tehran on Tuesday.
Iranian media reported hits on two steel complexes and a Shia religious centre. The government also claimed a plant making cancer drugs was struck, which AFP could not independently verify.
Residents described the strain of enduring the conflict. “I can almost believe the world hasn’t ended,” dental assistant Fatemeh, 27, told AFP via messaging app. “And then I go back home, back to the reality of living through war, with all its darkness and weight.”