By Jana Choukeir, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said the U.S. was considering “winding down” its military operation against Iran, as Iran and Israel traded attacks on Saturday and Iranian media said the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had been attacked.
In a social media post, Trump said the U.S. was close to meeting its goals but insisted that other countries should take the lead in policing the vital shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, whose near-closure threatens a global energy shock.
Trump and his administration have sent mixed messages about U.S. goals throughout the war, now entering its fourth week, leaving traditional U.S. allies struggling to respond.
In less than 24 hours, Trump suggested the war could wind down as the Iranian threat was being eliminated, while at the same time U.S. Marines and heavy landing craft were headed to the region on a mission whose goals were not immediately clear.
“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” he added. “If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated.”
IRAN REPORTS ATTACK ON NATANZ NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT PLANT More than 2,000 people have been killed in Iran since the U.S. and Israel attacked on February 28, while Americans appear increasingly concerned at signs the war could expand further.
Vital energy infrastructure in Iran and neighbouring Gulf states has been attacked, sending oil prices up 50% and threatening a global economic shock.
Trump had also accused NATO allies, which have not been consulted about the war, of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
As the fighting continued, the Iranian media said U.S.-Israeli forces had attacked the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz enrichment complex on Saturday morning. Technical experts found that no radioactive leaks had occurred and nearby residents were not at risk. Israel said it was unaware of such a strike.
Israel also attacked Beirut, saying it was targeting Hezbollah as it steps up airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese militia in the deadliest spillover from the war on Iran since Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.
Israel said Saturday’s attacks on Iran included Tehran, Karaj, west of the capital, and the central city of Isfahan. Three members of a family were killed in a strike on a residential building in the city of Ramsar, Iranian media quoted a local governor as saying.
Before its strikes on Lebanon, the Israeli military said it had issued evacuation warnings for seven neighbourhoods in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Four Hezbollah militants were killed in southern Lebanon, one in a “ground engagement” and three using tank fire, it said.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon and over 1 million displaced in the Israeli attacks.
Air raid sirens in Israel warned of incoming missiles from early morning, sending millions to shelters as the blasts of interceptions rang out from above. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel’s military said search and rescue teams were headed to impact sites in central Israel.
Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the U.S.-British military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean but did not hit the base, the Wall Street Journal reported.
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES SURGE
Natural gas prices in Europe surged as much as 35% this week as Iran and Israel hit some of the region’s most important gas infrastructure. The European Union urged members to lower gas-storage targets and start refilling reserves gradually to curb demand, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
The Strait of Hormuz, conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has been effectively closed to most shipping.
Leading allies of the U.S. from Europe as well as Japan and Canada have pledged to join “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the strait, but Germany and France have spelled out that fighting must stop first.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Kyodo news agency that Iran was ready to let Japan-related vessels pass through the narrow waterway. Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via the strait.
The White House, in an effort to increase supply and lower prices, said it would waive sanctions on Iranian oil for 30 days to allow the sale of 140 million barrels on tankers. The administration had previously eased sanctions on a similar amount of Russian oil.
As Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Friday to end the fasting month of Ramadan and Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a message of defiance.
Khamenei – who did not appear at Eid prayers and has not been seen in public since the initial Israeli attack that killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – said in his statement that Iranians had responded with unity and resistance and “dealt a disorienting blow to the enemy”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent Nowruz greetings to Iran’s leaders, using the occasion to say Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner.
The extent of Moscow’s support for Iran is in dispute though. Some Iranian sources say they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest crisis for Iran since the U.S.-backed shah was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali in Washington, Andrew Mills in Doha and Timour Azhari in Riyadh; Additional reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Tom Hogue and Matthias Williams; Editing by William Mallard)
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