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.
Trump has 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 head to the region on a mission whose goals are not immediately clear.
IRAN REPORTS ATTACK ON NATANZ NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT PLANT
“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.”
More than 2,000 people have been killed in Iran since the U.S. and Israel attacked on February 28, while American voters 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%.
Energy price shocks are also fuelling inflation, hitting consumers and businesses hard – a major political liability for Trump as he seeks to justify the war to the U.S. public before November elections in which he could lose control of Congress.
Trump had also accused NATO allies, which have not been consulted about the war, of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the strait.
Iranian gas supplies to Iraq reportedly resumed after flows were halted by an Israeli attack on Iran’s main gas field, South Pars, on Wednesday.
As the fighting continued, 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 while the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 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.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel was “determined to continue leading the attack against the Iranian terrorist regime, to behead its commanders and to thwart its strategic capabilities until any security threats to Israel and U.S. interests in the region are removed”.
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 U.S.-British military airport on the island of Diego Garcia, 3,800 km (2,400 miles) 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 Friday for the U.S. to use British military bases to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites.
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 strait, which carries around 90% of Japan’s oil imports.
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, marked the occasion with a message of defiance.
Khamenei – who did not appear at Eid prayers and has not been seen in public since the initial Israeli attack, which 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”.
(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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