Trump says US may end attacks on Iran within two to three weeks

President Donald Trump said the United States could halt its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks, while making clear that Tehran would not need to reach an agreement first for the conflict to begin winding down.

His remarks also highlighted the shifting, and at times conflicting, signals coming from Washington over how the war, now in its fifth week, might end. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said, “We’ll be leaving very soon,” and added that it could happen “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three”.

Asked whether a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran was required before Washington could end what it has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury”, Trump rejected that idea. “Iran doesn’t have to make a deal, no,” he said. “No, they don’t have to make a deal with me.”

Later, the White House said Trump would address the nation at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, or 0100 GMT on Thursday, to provide “an important update on Iran”.

Washington had earlier warned that it could intensify military operations if Tehran refused to accept a 15-point US ceasefire framework. Among its core demands were that Iran pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons, stop all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump was willing to make a deal with Iran to end a war that has killed thousands, spread across the region, disrupted energy supplies and threatened to send the global economy into a tailspin. Hegseth said talks were still underway and were gaining strength, but added that the United States was prepared to continue the war if Iran did not comply. “We have more and more options, and they have less ... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive,” he said in Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he had been receiving direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but said they did not amount to “negotiations”, according to Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV. He said the exchanges, conveyed through “friends”, involved either threats or views being passed along.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a new warning on Tuesday, threatening US companies in the region starting on Wednesday. It named 18 businesses, including Microsoft (MSFT.O), Google (GOOGL.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Intel (INTC.O), IBM (IBM.N), Tesla (TSLA.O) and Boeing (BA.N), saying they would be targeted from 8 p.m. Tehran time, or 1630 GMT. When asked whether he was concerned, Trump dismissed the threat, saying, “They don’t have much left to threaten.”

Trump also criticised countries that had not supported the US war effort, including Britain. In a social media post, he said that, in response to the global fuel shortage, such countries should either buy energy from the United States or find “some delayed courage”, go to the Strait and just “TAKE IT”.

Sources said France and Italy had pushed back against some US-Israeli military operations, exposing divisions among NATO allies over the war.

The conflict has meanwhile reignited fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry said on Wednesday that at least seven people were killed and 24 wounded in two Israeli strikes in the Beirut area. The attacks hit vehicles in Beirut’s southern outskirts and in an area just south of the capital.

Israel’s military said on Wednesday that it had carried out two separate strikes in the Beirut area targeting a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior member of the Iran-aligned group. It did not identify them or say whether they had been killed. Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

With the Middle East conflict showing no sign of easing, Pakistan is trying to mediate in the war. After meeting in Beijing on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of China and Pakistan called for an immediate ceasefire and urged peace talks to begin as soon as possible.

Iran, for its part, has remained defiant despite heavy US and Israeli attacks over the past month, even as neighbouring countries have been drawn into the conflict. Syrian state television reported that explosions heard in Damascus were caused by Israeli air defences intercepting Iranian missiles.

A regional official told state media that a weather station’s radar and building in the Iranian port of Bushehr were put out of service on Tuesday after being hit twice in US-Israeli attacks. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the Mobarakeh steel plant in the central city of Isfahan had been attacked for the second time in a week. In contrast, the Fars news agency said parts of the Sefiddasht Steel Complex in the city of Borujen were also targeted. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.

Higher oil and fuel prices have also started to weigh on household finances in the United States, creating a political headache for Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections. Data from fuel price-tracking service GasBuddy showed that the US national average retail price of gasoline rose above US$4 a gallon on Monday for the first time in more than three years.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe the United States should move quickly to end its involvement in the Iran war, even if that means failing to achieve the goals set out by the Trump administration.

Reuters