US Touts Progress in Iran as Trump Floats ‘Winding Down’

(Bloomberg) — The US military said it has been able to degrade Iran’s ability to target ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump floated the idea of “winding down” military efforts in the Persian Gulf.

More than 100 people were injured in Israel by multiple Iranian strikes in the country’s south, as Tehran sought to retaliate for an earlier attack on its own nuclear facility.

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Trump’s comments hinting at a deescalation 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, entering its fourth week, has sent energy prices soaring, prompting the US Treasury to take the extraordinary step of allowing the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemical products that had already been loaded onto tankers.

“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.

But Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that the joint campaign would intensify significantly, a day after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia — nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) away from Iran. The base suffered no damage, according to a person familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity, but the attack demonstrated a capability that goes beyond what Iran was known to have possessed.

The US Central Command, meanwhile, announced that earlier this week it had bombed Iranian facilities that menaced commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas. Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a video posted on X that the US struck Iran’s underground facilities and anti-ship missiles along with intelligence support and radar.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday that Tehran had informed it that the Natanz nuclear site had been attacked. The IAEA said in a statement on X there were no reports of an increase in off-site radiation levels at the site, which is one of Iran’s key enrichment facilities and was bombed during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last June and attacked during the first week of the current conflict.

Hours later, Iran said it fired missiles at the Israeli city of Dimona, which also lends its name to a nearby nuclear research facility, in what Iranian state TV labeled a response to the attack on Natanz. Israeli authorities said some 47 people were injured. A second strike landed in southern Israel, where three residential buildings suffered significant damage in Arad and hospital officials said more than 60 people were wounded, including seven who were taken to the hospital.

“This is a very difficult evening in the fight for our future,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that he was bolstering rescue teams in the affected areas.

The war also continued to affect Gulf neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, which said on X that Iran had fired eight drones and three missiles at the country.

Group of Seven foreign ministers issued a joint statement Saturday calling for an “immediate and unconditional cessation of all attacks by the Iranian regime,” saying the countries are ready to take “necessary measures” to support the global supply of energy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

In an effort to bring down oil prices, the US Treasury on Friday 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.

Iranian oil ministry spokesman Saman Ghodousi said on X that the nation has no floating crude, nor a surplus that’s available for international markets.

Trump’s comments capped a tumultuous Friday in financial markets.

Oil prices surged again Friday with global benchmark Brent closing above $112 a barrel, the highest since mid-2022. Prices eased to trade near $108 a barrel in thin post-settlement trading on Trump’s comments about possibly winding down the conflict.

Adding to the market turmoil was the administration’s consideration of a ground operation. Trump was evasive when asked by reporters about his plans for Kharg Island, Iran’s major oil export hub. US officials have said the White House is ordering hundreds of Marines to be deployed to the Middle East as it weighs a plan to seize the outpost.

Any move to use ground troops to seize control of Iran’s energy facilities would pose risks for Trump, including by putting American forces at greater danger than they’ve already been exposed to in the conflict and adding to the cost and scope of the campaign.

Iran said that an attack on Kharg Island would provoke an “unprecedented” response that could include retaliation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Tasnim news agency reported, citing an anonymous military source.

The Pentagon has asked for an additional $200 billion from Congress to pay for the war, sending another mixed signal on how long the administration expects the conflict to last.

–With assistance from Dan Williams, Galit Altstein, Susanne Barton, Jeff Mason and Courtney Subramanian.

(Updates with second strike in Israel, Netanyahu statement starting in second paragraph)

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