Trump Floats ‘Winding Down’ Iran War as Strikes Continue

i2uqa7p6[nzk25bbvldj5j08_media_dl_1.png Institute for the Study of War a

Article content

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” US military efforts against Iran, saying that the US was close to achieving its objectives, even as attacks continued as the war entered its fourth week.

Article content

Trump’s comments came shortly after he ruled out a ceasefire and kept the door open to deploying ground troops, highlighting how the president continues to send wildly divergent signals about his objectives and plans for the US and Israeli war on Iran. The conflict has roiled financial markets and sent energy prices soaring, prompting the US Treasury to take the extraordinary step of unsanctioning some Iranian oil. 

Article content

Article content

Article content

“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East,” Trump said in a social-media post on Friday. He cast those objectives as “Completely degrading” Iran’s missile capabilities, “destroying” the country’s defense industrial base, eliminating its navy and air force, never allowing Tehran to get close to a “Nuclear Capability” and protecting Middle Eastern allies.

Article content

Article content

But it’s unclear how Iran would respond to any unilateral decision by the US to pause strikes after recent attacks that targeted the country’s energy infrastructure and killed more high-profile officials, including security chief Ali Larijani. 

Article content

Despite weeks of US-Israeli bombardment, the regime isn’t close to falling, and is instead coalescing around the remaining hardliners, according to western intelligence assessments and people familiar with the matter.

Article content

Iranian officials have become reluctant to even discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz amid the intense US-Israeli bombing campaign, which continued overnight. The Israeli army said Saturday morning it was striking targets in Tehran and had detected missiles launched from Iran, which continued to launch retaliatory strikes at Gulf Arab neighbors as well. 

Article content

Article content

Trump also addressed the strait, a critical waterway that carries roughly a fifth of global oil and natural gas flows and has been all but closed since hostilities began. Trump has been pressuring allies to help the US secure the strait militarily but indicated Friday that he will leave that effort to other nations.

Article content

“The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” Trump said. “If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them.”

Article content

Trump’s suggestion that the nations most reliant on Mideast energy and other goods shipped through the strait should have the responsibility of policing it belies the global reach of the oil market. 

Article content

Even though the US is pumping a record amount of oil, crude prices are set in a world market, so supply shocks tied to the strait will ripple from Beijing to Washington, affecting consumers in the US. 

Article content

On Friday, in an effort to bring down prices, the Department of Treasury issued a general license for Iranian energy that’s already on vessels, authorized through April 19. That follows similar moves for Russian oil on the water. For now, the vast majority of Iran’s oil is bought by Chinese customers.