President Donald Trump said that he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran, as the United States temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis.
Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei claimed to have dealt a “dizzying blow” to his country’s enemies.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the US was “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.” His post was the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end hostilities that began on February 28.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X shortly after Trump’s message, said, “The President and the Pentagon predicted it would take approximately 4-6 weeks to achieve this mission.”
“Tomorrow marks week 3 – and the US Armed Forces are doing an exceptional job,” Leavitt continued. “Day by day, the Iranian Regime is being crippled, and their ability to threaten the United States and our allies is being significantly weakened.”
‘Regime targets’
Early Saturday, the Israeli military said it launched strikes on “regime targets” in Tehran, after reporting several rounds of Iranian missile fire at Israel. There were no immediate details on the outcome of the strikes. The Iranian capital has come under near daily bombardment since a joint US-Israeli attack started the war on February 28, killing top officials, including the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
