DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran kept up its attacks on Persian Gulf neighbors on Wednesday as airstrikes pounded Tehran, while U.S. President Donald Trump again made contradictory statements about whether he was ready to wind down the war or escalate it.
Trump struck a hard line Wednesday in a Truth Social post, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic
Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” A day earlier, Trump said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz; that was an apparent backtrack from an earlier threat to attack Iran's power grid and other infrastructure if it didn't open the strait by April 6.
Trump, who is scheduled to give a televised address Wednesday evening, said Tuesday he could walk away from the war in two to three weeks once he felt confident Iran would not be able to build a nuclear weapon — even if Tehran does not agree to a ceasefire.
But his latest Truth Social post struck a more belligerent tone as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive after weeks of airstrikes targeting Iran.
Trump also claimed Wednesday that “Iran's New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn't clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran did not immediately respond to the claim.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about the purpose of their deployment.
Just days ago, Trump threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And there has also been speculation about whether the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, according to experts and former government officials.
Adding to the confusion is what role Israel - which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war as oil prices have skyrocketed, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was up more than 40% since the start of the war, trading at more than $103 a barrel on Wednesday.
A fifth of the world’s traded oil passes through the strait in peacetime, and even if it were to reopen quickly, some effects like higher food prices could persist for months or longer.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. Its own five-point response includes retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
A cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. The 21-member crew of the tanker, contracted by state-owned QatarEnergy, was evacuated and no casualties were reported.
A fully-loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker came under attack off Dubai the day before, one of more than 20 ships attacked by Iran during the war.
In the United Arab Emirates, a person was killed when he was hit by debris from an intercepted drone in Fujairah, one of the country’s seven emirates.
Bahrain sounded two alerts for incoming missiles, while Kuwait’s state-run KUNA news agency said a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a large fire.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted a ballistic missile and two drones fired from Iran in the last 24 hours. No casualties were reported. Two drones were also intercepted in Saudi Arabia, and air raid sirens sounded in Israel though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
An airstrike on Tehran, meanwhile, appeared to have hit the former U.S. Embassy compound, which has been controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard since American diplomats were held hostage there in 1979.
Witnesses said buildings outside the massive compound had their windows blown out and that it appears the strike happened inside the walled facility.
Israel also said it hit a plant in Iran producing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Israel and the United States have alleged in recent years that Iran was experimenting with using fentanyl in chemical weapons.
Iran acknowledged a strike Tuesday on Tofigh Daru factory, but insisted it only supplied “hospital drugs.” Hospitals use fentanyl to treat severe pain but it can also be fatal.
In Lebanon, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the war. Many Lebanese fear another prolonged military occupation.
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million displaced, according to authorities. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
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Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
