Dubai, United Arab Emirates — US President Donald Trump said he was considering “reducing” the army Operations in the Middle East Even as the United States sends three additional amphibious assault ships and about 2,500 additional Marines to the region.
Trump’s Friday social media post came on the heels of an Iranian threat to attack entertainment and tourism sites around the world and another day of airstrikes, missile and drone attacks that swept the region.
Conflicting messages came from one United States after another The rise in oil prices The US stock market plunged, and this was followed by the Trump administration announcing that it would lift sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on ships, a move aimed at combating high fuel prices.
The three-week war showed no signs of abating, with Israel saying Iran continued to fire missiles at it early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia said it had shot down 20 drones in just a few hours in the eastern region of the country, which is home to major oil facilities.
The attacks came a day after Israeli air strikes on Tehran while Iranians were celebrating the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a traditional holiday. Festive holiday silenced by war.
The United States and Israel have offered varying justifications for war, from Hoping to spark an uprising Which overthrows Iran’s leadership to eliminate it Nuclear and missile programs. There have been no overt signs of any such uprising and there is no end to the war in sight.
“We are very close to achieving our goals as we consider scaling back our significant military efforts in the Middle East,” Trump said on social media.
This seemed to conflict with his administration’s move to strengthen its firepower in the region and its request for another $200 billion from Congress to finance the war.
The United States is deploying three additional amphibious assault ships and about 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told The Associated Press. Two other American officials confirmed the deployment of the ships without mentioning their destination. The three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
Days earlier, the United States redirected another group of amphibious assault ships carrying another 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East. The Marines will join more than 50,000 American soldiers already in the region.
Trump said he has no plans to send ground troops to Iran, but also stressed that he reserves all options.
Iran’s chief military spokesman, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned on Friday that “parks, entertainment areas and tourist destinations” around the world would not be safe for the country’s enemies. The threat renewed fears that Tehran might return to using armed attacks outside the Middle East as a means of pressure.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei He praised the steadfastness of Iranians in the face of war in a written statement read on Iranian television on the occasion of Nowruz. Khamenei has not appeared in public since he became supreme leader in the wake of the Israeli raids that killed his father, the Ayatollah. Ali KhameneiIt is said that he was injured.
With little information coming from Iran, it was not clear how much damage had been done to its weapons, nuclear or energy facilities in the punitive US and Israeli strikes, which began on February 28 – or even by whom. He was really responsible for the country. But Iran’s attacks continue to choke off oil supplies Raising food and fuel prices Much further than the Middle East.
The Israeli military said early Saturday that it had begun a wave of strikes targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Smoke was seen rising, fires broke out, and explosions were heard in parts of central Beirut, hours after the Israeli army renewed evacuation warnings for seven neighborhoods.
Israeli raids targeting Hezbollah In Lebanon It killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than a million, according to the Lebanese government.
More than 1,300 people were killed in Iran during the war. In Israel, Iranian missiles killed 15 people, and four others were killed in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 US military personnel were killed.
Brent crudeThe price of oil, the international standard, rose during the fighting and reached about $106 per barrel, after it was approximately $70 before the war.
The newly announced US sanctions moratorium on Iranian oil loaded on ships applies starting Friday and is scheduled to expire on April 19.
This new step does not increase production flow, which is a major factor in… High prices. Iran has been able to evade US sanctions for years, suggesting that much of what it exports is already reaching buyers.
Looking for ways to Boosting global oil supplies during Iran warThe Trump administration had previously suspended sanctions on some Russian oil shipments for 30 days, which critics said rewarded Moscow while having only a modest impact on markets.
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Price reported from Washington and Watson reported from San Diego. AP journalists Colleen Binkley in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Konstantin Torobin in Washington contributed.