Iran vows to fight ‘as long as needed’ as Trump says war will end ‘soon’
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US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on March 7.
PHOTO: TIERNEY L. CROSS/NYTIMES
- Trump claims the war against Iran is "very complete" and ahead of schedule, despite ongoing conflict and Strait of Hormuz closure.
- Iran's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, faces US and Israeli strikes, with global impact on oil prices and stock markets.
- International efforts are underway to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while regional tensions escalate with attacks and casualties.
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WASHINGTON - Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on March 10 his country would keep fighting as long as necessary, casting doubt on US President Donald Trump’s insistence that the conflict would be over “soon.”
The remarks from one of Iran’s top leaders, who also ruled out negotiations with Washington, came as Tehran launched a new wave of attacks on US-allied Gulf nations hours after Mr Trump’s assurances of a swift end to the rapidly widening conflict.
Mr Trump’s comments helped reverse the stock market slumps and oil price jumps of a day earlier, with markets in Tokyo and Seoul opening strongly, and oil prices down as much as five per cent, a day after benchmark crude rocketed past US$100 a barrel.
“It’s going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again, they’ll be hit even harder,” Mr Trump told a news conference in Florida, after telling an audience of lawmakers that the campaign would be a “short-term excursion”.
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Mr Trump said.
He threatened an attack of “incalculable” size if Tehran blocks oil supplies.
“We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world, if they do anything.”
However, in an interview, Mr Araghchi told PBS News “the firings continues, and we are prepared. We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also responded to Mr Trump that they would “determine the end of the war”.
And Mr Araghchi effectively ruled out negotiations with Washington, saying Tehran had “a very bitter experience of talking with Americans”.
Recalling previous US attacks during earlier negotiations, he said: “I don’t think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda.”
Early on March 10, Iranian attacks again targeted Gulf nations.
The United Arab Emirates said it was “currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”, while in Bahrain, citizens were told to take shelter as sirens sounded.
Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also said they had intercepted and destroyed drones.
In Iran, local media reported fresh attacks in the capital and Khomein, and Israel said it had struck an Iranian missile launcher shortly after an Iranian barrage that triggered warnings in several parts of Israel.
The ongoing fire laid bare the uncertainty that has roiled markets globally, prompting fuel shortages and raising the spectre of inflation.
In a bid to calm prices, Mr Trump announced he would waive some sanctions on oil, following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Iran has targeted vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil usually transits.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country and its allies were working on a “purely defensive” mission
But it was far from clear when that might come.
Iran’s new supreme leader is hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei
Mr Trump has called Mr Khamenei a “lightweight” and said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s leader.
The appointment was welcomed by some in Iran however, with state media carrying images of tens of thousands of people celebrating in central Tehran on March 9, many carrying the new leader’s picture.
‘Just a bit of bread’
The war has spiralled far beyond Iran’s borders, dragging in not only its Gulf neighbours but also Lebanon, where Israel carried out fresh strikes on March 10.
The Lebanese authorities said on March 9 that Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313.
AFP has not been able to carry out a detailed breakdown of the figures.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel after the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Hezbollah of working to “collapse” the state, while the head of the group’s parliamentary bloc said it had “no other option... than the option of resistance”.
Syria too criticised the group, saying it had fired artillery shells into its territory from Lebanon overnight, and warning its army “will not tolerate any aggression.”
Israeli strikes and ground incursions have pushed hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes, with more than 660,000 registered as displaced, according to government figures.
Among them is Ms Zainab El Masry, 40, who was sleeping with her husband and children on the grimy pavement of a Beirut square.
“We have nothing to eat or drink, just a bit of bread,” she told AFP.
The conflict comes as Muslims mark the fasting month of Ramadan, and in Iran residents said they were grappling with the war and its impact on prices.
“What amazes me the most is that people insist on sitting out on the terrace to watch the bombardments, as if it were a show,” said cafe manager Reza, 36, in the north-eastern city of Boukan.
“The real problem is money: banks no longer distribute cash and many bank cards are blocked,” he said.
“So in my cafe, I made a simple decision: for those who can’t pay for their coffee, it’s on the house.” AFP
