Tehran (AFP) – President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran but was not seeking a ceasefire with the Islamic republic. Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, meanwhile, claimed in a message to mark the first day of the Persian New Year to have delivered a “dizzying blow” to enemies in the three-week-old Middle East war. Fresh blasts hit Tehran on Friday, and Israel accused Iran of attacking holy sites in Jerusalem after a strike left a crater in the Old City near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Western Wall, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
On Wall Street, stocks ended sharply lower after oil prices shot up on fears that lengthy supply disruptions could lead to a global economic downturn. All three major indices were firmly in the red, with the broad-based S&P 500 down 1.5 percent and the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, rising 3.3 percent to $112.19 per barrel. Turkey lashed out at Israel meanwhile for striking Syrian army camps in southern Syria, calling it a “dangerous escalation” and urging the international community to intervene.
Syria has so far avoided being dragged into the regional war that began on February 28 when Israel and the United States began striking Iran, which has hit back by firing ballistic missiles and drones at countries across the region. Lebanon has also been targeted by Israeli airstrikes against Iranian ally Hezbollah, which have left more than 1,000 people dead according to the Lebanese health ministry.
– ‘We have won’ –
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the United States was “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East.” The social media post was the strongest indication yet from the US president that he may be prepared to soon end hostilities. It came shortly after Trump told reporters at the White House that he was not looking for a truce. “I think we have won,” Trump said. “I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”
In his post, Trump said other nations will have to take responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, which has effectively been blockaded by Iran and which sees a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it in peacetime. “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other nations who use it — The United States does not!” he said. “If asked, we will help these countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated.”
Trump also said the United States wants to talk to Iran but “there’s nobody to talk to” because of the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader and other top officials. Iran’s new supreme leader has not appeared in public since being named to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei. In a written statement to mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Mojtaba Khamenei said Iranians have “dealt him (the enemy) a dizzying blow so that he now starts uttering contradictory words and nonsense.” “At the moment, due to the particular unity that has been created between you our compatriots — despite all the differences in religious, intellectual, cultural and political origins — the enemy has been defeated,” Khamenei said. The statement of defiance came as Iranians marked a muted Nowruz punctuated by the sound of loud blasts in eastern and northern Tehran. Shoppers were out in force buying new clothes and gifts, although pavements were less packed than usual for this time of year, with many people having fled north.
– Gulf nations targeted –
Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to send US ground troops into combat with Iran, but The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that an additional 2,200-2,500 US Marines were headed to the region. Trump would not confirm a report by the Axios news outlet that he was considering an occupation or blockade of Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait. “I may have a plan or I may not,” Trump said when asked by an AFP reporter. US forces hit Kharg with strikes that Trump said had “totally obliterated” all military targets on the island, but Washington has so far avoided hitting its oil infrastructure.
In Jerusalem, the Israeli military blamed “Iranian missile fragments” for a blast that hit the Old City. It was not immediately clear if the missile had been intercepted or what its intended target was. Iranian attacks continued meanwhile on energy infrastructure in the Gulf. On Friday, drone attacks hit Kuwait’s giant Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, causing a fire that was later brought under control, a day after a direct hit on Qatar’s vital Ras Laffan natural gas facility. The attack caused “extensive damage” that Qatar’s state energy company said could cost $20 billion a year in lost revenue and take five years to repair. That could lead to high energy prices worldwide that outlast the conflict, increasing inflation and lowering economic growth.
© 2024 AFP
