Trump mulls ‘winding down’ Iran war

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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on March 20 said he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran three weeks into the war, but warned the Strait of Hormuz would need to be policed by other countries.

His comments were his strongest signal yet of an end to the conflict, but came despite the fact that the key oil passage effectively remains closed, and as thousands more Marines are headed to the Middle East.

“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

“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.

Mr Trump – who has previously given shifting goals for the war including regime change – listed the objectives as ensuring Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, destroying its missile arsenal, navy, air force and industrial base, and protecting Gulf allies.

The US leader had earlier branded NATO allies “cowards” for failing to heed his calls to secure the strait, on which Iran has a virtual stranglehold.

The 79-year-old’s sudden announcement that he was considering scaling back operations came just over an hour after he had ruled out a ceasefire with the Islamic republic.

“I think we have won,” he told journalists at the White House as he headed to his Florida resort for the weekend alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”

Mr Trump would not confirm a report by the Axios news outlet that he was considering an occupation or blockade of Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil hub, to pressure Tehran to reopen the strait.

“I may have a plan or I may not,” he said when asked by an AFP reporter. “It’s certainly a place that people are talking about but I can’t tell you.”

Tit-for-tat strikes continue

Strikes by both sides continued on March 20 and 21 as the war reached the end of its third week.

The Israeli military said it launched strikes on “regime targets” in Tehran early on March 21 after Iran fired missiles at Israel.

The Iranian capital has come under near daily bombardment since a joint US-Israeli attack started the war on Feb 28. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks at Israel, US interests in the Gulf and other targets in the region.

Kuwait’s military, meanwhile, said its air defence systems were responding to a missile and drone attack on March 21.

Iran recently fired two ballistic missiles toward the joint US-British military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, The Wall Street Journal reported on March 20, citing US officials.

Neither missile hit the target, which is around 4,000km from Iranian territory, but the launch suggests that Tehran has missiles with longer ranges than previously thought, the report said.

One of the missiles failed in flight, and the other was targeted by an interceptor fired from a US warship, though it was not clear if the missile was hit, The Journal reported.

Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands is one of two bases Britain is allowing the US to use for “defensive” operations in Iran.

American forces have stationed bombers and other equipment at the base, a key hub for Asia operations, including the US bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Britain has agreed to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after holding it since the 1960s, and maintains a lease for the base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, through state media, said late on March 20 that it launched strikes on more than 55 American- and Israeli-linked sites in the region. It said it targeted American bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, and the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as well as Israeli sites in Haifa and Tel Aviv.

‘Cowards!’

US forces hit Kharg on March 20 in strikes that Mr Trump said had “totally obliterated” all military targets on the island, but Washington has so far avoided hitting its oil infrastructure.

Surging oil prices have put pressure on the US leader to bring the war to an end, amid Republican fears the economic shock could hurt the party in November’s mid-term elections.

Mr Trump has previously said he does not plan to put boots on the ground in Iran.

But The Wall Street Journal said Washington is deploying between 2,200 and 2,500 US Marines from the California-based USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Asked about the reports, the Marine Corps said the two groups are “deployed at sea,” while the US 3rd Fleet said they are “conducting routine operations”.

A week ago, US media reported a separate deployment to the Middle East of some 2,500 Marines aboard as many as three ships.

Mr Trump had lashed out at the NATO military alliance earlier for failing to commit to provide naval escorts for tankers in the strait.

“So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!” Trump posted on his Truth Social network.

“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” he posted.

Six key powers including Britain, France, Germany and Japan – whose premier met Trump at the White House on March 19 – say they are ready to “contribute to appropriate efforts”.

But they have not made any commitment and several allies have said they will not help until hostilities have ended. AFP, REUTERS