President Donald Trump on Friday said that Washington was close to achieving its objectives against Iran and that the US is considering “winding down” military efforts in the Middle East.
It comes after Mr Trump ruled out a potential ceasefire with Iran, pointing to US and Israeli battlefield gains.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump described the US objectives as “completely degrading” Iranian missile capabilities, destroying its defence industrial base, eliminating its naval and air forces, never allowing Tehran to gain nuclear capabilities, and “protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others”.
It appears to be the first time the Trump administration has so clearly laid out its goals for the conflict.
Earlier, Mr Trump said that he does not support a ceasefire with Tehran, as the US was “obliterating” Iranian forces.
“I think we’ve won. We’ve knocked out their navy, their air force. We’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft. We’ve knocked out everything. We’re roaming free,” he told reporters as he departed the White House for the weekend.
“We can have a dialogue, but we won’t. I don’t want a ceasefire. You don’t call a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”
While Mr Trump has said several times that he expected the conflict to last a matter of weeks, ally Israel appears to be eyeing a longer campaign that would end with complete regime change.
But some signs point to a much longer US entanglement in the region. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said the Pentagon would be asking for approximately $200 billion in supplemental funding for the war and thousands of US troops are en route to the Middle East.
After days of public and private wrangling with allies over patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, Mr Trump on Friday seemed to wash his hands of the issue.
“The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it – The United States does not!” he wrote in his Truth Social post.
“If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them.”
The President had bemoaned a lack of enthusiasm among allies over escorting oil tankers through the strait, a vital waterway for the global petroleum trade that Iran effectively closed when the conflict began.
He told reporters that opening the strait would be “simple”.
“It’s relatively safe, but you need a lot of help, in the sense of you need ships, you need volume. And Nato could help us, but they so far haven’t had the courage to do so,” he said. “At a certain point, it will open itself.”
Mr Trump campaigned on lowering prices, including for energy, but with costs skyrocketing and the midterm elections approaching, unease is certain to be growing among Republicans.
On Friday, Bahrain and Romania said they would contribute to efforts to secure navigation in the strait. In a joint statement this week, the UK, France, Italy and other countries expressed their “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait”.
