Trump Floats ‘Winding Down’ Iran War as Strikes Continue
US President Donald Trump with members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House on March 20.
Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg
As the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran entered its fourth week, President Donald Trump allowed the sale of some Iranian oil to contain surging crude prices and floated “winding down” military efforts there.
Trump’s comments came shortly after he ruled out a ceasefire and kept the door open to deploying ground troops, highlighting how the president continues to send wildly divergent signals about his objectives and plans for the US and Israeli war on Iran. The conflict has roiled financial markets and sent energy prices soaring, prompting the US Treasury to take the extraordinary step of allowing the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemical products that have been loaded onto tankers.