WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/CAIRO, April 1 (Reuters) – The United States will end its war on Iran fairly soon and could return for “spot hits” if needed, President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday, hours before he was scheduled to make a primetime address to the nation.
Trump also said he would state in the speech, which is due at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday), that he was considering withdrawing the U.S. from the NATO alliance.
Asked when the United States would consider the Iran war over, Trump said: “I can’t tell you exactly … we’re going to be out pretty quickly.”
U.S. action has ensured Iran will not have nuclear arms, he said: “They won’t have a nuclear weapon because they are incapable of that now, and then I’ll leave, and I’ll take everybody with me, and if we have to we’ll come back to do spot hits.”
TRUMP SAYS HE IS CONSIDERING QUITTING NATO
Global oil supplies are expected to be hit twice as hard this month as in March, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, underlining the urgent need for an end to the conflict Trump began with Israel on February 28.
Trump said separately on social media that Iran had asked for a ceasefire but that he would not consider it until Tehran ceased blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a major fuel shipment route. Iran denied any such request.
Two security sources from Pakistan, which is mediating in the conflict, earlier told Reuters Islamabad had proposed a temporary ceasefire to both sides but had not heard back from either.
Trump signalled on Tuesday he could wind down the war in two to three weeks even without a deal and scaled up threats to pull the U.S. out of the NATO defence alliance if European states did not help stop Iran threatening the waterway.
In his remarks to Reuters, Trump said he would express his disgust with NATO for what he considers the alliance’s lack of support for U.S. objectives in Iran. He said he is “absolutely” considering an attempt to withdraw the United States from NATO.
European states took pains to appear unruffled and France’s junior army minister Alice Rufo said operations by NATO in the Strait of Hormuz would be a breach of international law.
JET FUEL AND DIESEL SHORTAGE EXPECTED TO HIT EUROPE SOON
Trump’s comments underscored growing unease about a conflict that has killed thousands, spread across the region and caused unprecedented energy disruption.
International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol said the main issue so far from Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz was the lack of jet fuel and diesel that was already a problem in Asia and would hit Europe in April or May.
Businesses around the world are struggling, with cosmetics and tea among the latest sectors to report difficulties.
Washington had threatened to intensify operations unless Tehran agreed to not pursue nuclear weapons or uranium enrichment and to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” program there was potential for a “direct meeting at some point” and the U.S. could “see the finish line”.
TANKER HIT OFF QATAR, BLAZES IN BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT
Drones hit fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport, causing a big blaze, and authorities in Bahrain reported a fire at an undisclosed company facility from an Iranian attack.
Qatar said an oil tanker leased to state-owned QatarEnergy was hit by an Iranian cruise missile in Qatari waters, but that there were no injuries or environmental damage.
An overnight strike hit Shahid Haghani Port, Iran’s largest passenger terminal, deputy regional governor Ahmad Nafisi told state media, calling it a “criminal” attack on civilian infrastructure.
Iran has fired repeatedly on Gulf countries, some home to U.S. bases, during the conflict, and is using the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as a bargaining chip.
Oil reversed earlier gains on Wednesday on Trump’s talk of an exit from the war. Asian, European and U.S. stocks rose.
Higher fuel prices are weighing on U.S. household finances before the November midterm elections, with two-thirds of Americans believing the U.S. should work to exit the Iran war quickly, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
HOUTHIS LAUNCH COORDINATED ATTACK
Iran reiterated on Tuesday it was ready to intensify attacks on U.S. assets and allies or reach a resolution, without saying how that could occur given the warring sides’ conflicting demands.
Its Revolutionary Guards have threatened to hit U.S. companies in the region including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing, from 8 p.m. Tehran time (1630 GMT) on Wednesday. Trump has said he was not concerned.
Iran said an air strike had killed one person, wounded another and damaged 32 residential units in the northwestern city of Tabriz and that 132 historical monuments had been damaged in 18 Iranian provinces since the start of the war.
Debris from Iranian missiles struck several areas in central Israel. Such debris has accounted for most of the 19 deaths in Israel so far but there were no reports of new fatalities.
In Iran, 3,492 people have been killed, including 1,574 civilians and 236 children, U.S.-based rights group HRANA said. Iranian Emergency Organization Jafar Meyadfar said 24 healthcare workers had been killed and 114 injured, Tasnim news reported.
Yemen’s Houthis said they carried out a missile attack on Israel along with Iran and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon for the first time after joining the war in recent days. Israel’s military said air-defence systems were intercepting the threats.
In Lebanon, where Israel has stepped up an offensive, at least seven people were killed and 24 wounded in two Israeli strikes in the Beirut area, the Lebanese health ministry said. Israel said it was targeting two senior Hezbollah figures.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Costas Pitas, Martin Petty, Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Alison Williams and Keith Weir)
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