Trump mulls ending war; U.S. eases curbs on Iran oil

Trump mulls ending war; U.S. eases curbs on Iran oil

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he is considering “winding down” the war on Iran, adding that securing the Strait of Hormuz — now under Iran’s control — is the responsibility of other nations, even as Washington temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments in a bid to alleviate the global supply crisis.

“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives,” the U.S. President wrote in a post on a social media platform.

Mr. Trump also said that the U.S. has “degraded” Iran’s missile capability, “destroyed” its defence industrial base, and “eliminated” its Navy and Air Force, including anti-aircraft weaponry. The U.S. President vowed to protect America’s allies in the region, “including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others”, adding that the U.S. had taken out Iran’s nuclear capability, and would never allow Tehran to rebuild it.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday said it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded onto vessels, to tackle supply disruptions and rising prices.

Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy said the Guards had attacked two American bases in the Persian Gulf.

“IRGC pounded the facilities of the two Al-Minhad [UAE] and Ali Al-Salem [Kuwait] air bases, the hangars, and the fuel depots of American-Zionist aircraft with a massive volume of ballistic missiles and suicide drones. These bases were the origin of the aggression against #IranianIslands,” Mr. Tangsiri said in a post on Saturday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, “By temporarily unlocking this existing supply for the world, the U.S. will quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets, expanding the amount of worldwide energy and helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply caused by Iran.” “This temporary, short-term authorisation is strictly limited to oil that is already in transit.”

The U.S. and Israel have carried out thousands of air strikes in Iran since they started the war on February 28. At least 1,400 people have been killed, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and its Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani. Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S.-Israeli strikes have destroyed Iran’s military capabilities.

Despite such claims, Iran has consistently carried out missile and drone attacks against Israel and America’s Persian Gulf Arab allies, besides taking control of the Strait of Hormuz through which one-fifth of the world’s traded oil passed before the war. The attacks on oil facilities in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait have driven up oil, gas, and fertilizer prices. Brent crude closed at $106 a barrel on Friday, up from $72 on February 28, the first day of the war.