US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said there was “practically nothing left" to target in Iran, and hinted that the war may end soon amid rising concerns over crude oil and gas prices due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told Axios in a five-minute call that the Iran war will end “soon" as there is “practically nothing left to target" in the country. “Little this and that… Any time I want it to end, it will end," he added.
Even as Trump has publicly signalled that his operation has largely accomplished its objectives, US and Israeli officials say there has been no internal directive on when fighting might stop. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said the war will continue “without any time limit, for as long as necessary, until we achieve all the objectives and decisively win the campaign."
Trump had earlier offered mixed signals about ending the war, assuring that the conflict was a “short-term excursion", while also threatening to strike Iran twenty times harder, saying that “we have not won enough."
However, Washington has been under pressure to rein in the conflict as global concerns mounted over a sharp rise in gas prices that have rattled consumers and financial markets. Crude oil prices jumped to nearly $120 per barrel on Monday, and several energy producers have shut operations due to Iranian strikes in the Gulf.
The vital Strait of Hormuz remains virtually shut after the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it was taking control of the waterway, which carries one-fifth of global energy shipments. The US has also received intelligence that Iran has started laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a sharp warning from Trump over “consequences never seen before".
The White House said Operation Epic Fury has been a resounding success, adding that the war would end when Trump’s goals have been met and Iran surrenders. It also said the operation against Iran would lead to lower gas prices in the long run.
Meanwhile, a Thai bulk carrier was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, while another container ship was struck off the UAE coast. Qatar has already halted its production of natural gas, and Bahrain declared its oil operations couldn’t meet their contractual obligations.
