Trump says US considering ‘winding down’ Iran war; Natanz nuclear facility attacked

Summary

• Israel struck Iran and Beirut on March 21, while Iran attacked sites in multiple countries, including Israel, escalating the conflict.
• The US is deploying 2,500 Marines to the Middle East, but Americans fear a larger ground war, despite Trump's denials of troop deployments.
• The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, Trump criticises allies, but the US waives sanctions on Iranian oil to increase global supply.

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DUBAI – President Donald Trump said the US was considering “winding down” its military operation against Iran, as Iran and Israel traded attacks on March 21 and Iranian media said the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had been attacked.

In a social media post, Mr Trump said the US 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.

Mr Trump and his administration have sent mixed signals about US goals throughout the war, now in its fourth week, leaving traditional allies struggling to respond.

This time he suggested the war could wind down as the Iranian threat was being eliminated, while at the same time US Marines and heavy landing craft head to the region on a mission whose goals are 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,” he 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.”

More than 2,000 people have been killed in Iran since the US and Israel attacked on Feb 28, while American voters appear increasingly concerned at signs that the war could expand further.

Vital energy infrastructure in Iran and neighbouring Gulf states has been attacked, sending oil prices up 50 per cent.

Energy price shocks are also fuelling inflation, hitting consumers and businesses hard – a major political liability for Mr Trump as he seeks to justify the war to the US public before November elections in which his party could lose control of Congress.

The US President recently also accused NATO allies, which have not been consulted about the war, of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian gas supplies to Iraq reportedly resumed after flows were halted by an Israeli attack on Iran’s main gas field, South Pars, on March 18.

As the fighting continued, Iranian media said US-Israeli forces had attacked the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz enrichment complex on the morning of March 21.

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, while the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was investigating.

Russia called it “a blatant violation of international law”.

Israel also attacked Beirut, saying it was targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia, in the deadliest spillover from the war on Iran since Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that the US and Israel would intensify their strikes on Iran in the coming week, starting March 22.

“This week, the intensity of the strikes to be carried out by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the US military against the Iranian terror regime and the infrastructure on which it relies will rise significantly,” Mr Katz said in a statement issued by the Defence Ministry on March 21.

Israel also said it had attacked 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 reported.

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.

Iran fired two ballistic missiles towards the US-British military airport on the island of Diego Garcia, 3,800km away in the Indian Ocean, but did not hit the base, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A source at Britain’s Defence Ministry said the attack had occurred before the government gave specific authorisation on March 20 for the US to use British military bases to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites.

Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands is one of two bases that Britain is allowing the US to use for “defensive” operations in Iran.

European gas prices surge

Natural gas prices in Europe surged as much as 35 per cent as Iran and Israel hit some of the region’s most important gas infrastructure. The European Union has urged members to lower gas storage targets and start refilling reserves gradually to curb demand, reported the Financial Times on March 21.

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 US 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 spelt out that fighting must stop first.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the strait remained open, but only to countries Iran considers as uninvolved in the war.

To prove his point, he said Tehran was ready to facilitate the passage of Japanese vessels through the strait. Japan gets about 90 per cent of its oil shipments via Hormuz.

More than 20 countries have said they would contribute to efforts ensuring safe passage in the strait.

“We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” said the 22 countries, mostly European but also including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Japan and South Korea.

“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning,” they said in a joint statement on March 21.

As Muslims around the region celebrated Eid al-Fitr, ending the fasting month of Ramadan on the evening of March 20, and Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian new year, new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a message of defiance.

Mr Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the Israeli attack that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the war’s first day, said 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 that Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner.

US Marines are coming

Three US officials told Reuters on March 20 that 2,500 Marines, along with amphibious assault ship Boxer and accompanying warships, would deploy to the region, although they did not say what their role would be.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that almost two-thirds of Americans believe Mr Trump will order troops into a large-scale ground war, with only 7 per cent supporting such a move.

Two officials said there had been no decision on whether to send troops into Iran. Sources said possible targets could include Iran’s coast or the Kharg Island oil export hub.

Mr Trump said on March 19 he was “not putting troops anywhere” when asked by a reporter about his plans, but added that “if I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. REUTERS