Trump Sends Mixed Signals On When Iran War Might End
Facing pressure after a surge in energy prices, President Trump said the war would be over “very soon.” He later said the fighting would go on for at least another week.
Pakistani warships were escorting the country’s merchant vessels in the Middle East on Tuesday, as the conflict in Iran choked off oil tanker traffic and prompted President Trump to warn of even more aggressive U.S. action if Iranian leaders continue trying to cut off access to energy supplies.
Fighting has slowed ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about one-fifth of the world’s oil. Pakistan, which heavily relies on energy imports from the Gulf, said on Monday that it had sent warships to accompany merchant vessels to ensure its access to energy supplies.
Mr. Trump struck a belligerent tone toward Iran on Monday evening while speaking with reporters in Florida. “We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world,” he said. He also expressed displeasure at Iran’s appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader, saying that “it’s going to lead to more of the same problem for the country.”
Mr. Trump sent confusing signals about when the war might end.
In a phone interview with a CBS reporter, Weijia Jiang, he said the war “is very complete, pretty much,” adding: “We’re very far ahead of schedule.” Those comments appeared to ease market fears of a prolonged war. Oil prices dropped and stocks rose.
But after markets closed on Monday, Mr. Trump struck a different tone. “We have won in many ways, but not enough,” he told a gathering of Republican lawmakers in Florida. “We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all.” Asked at the news conference later if the war with Iran would be over this week, Mr. Trump said, “No.” He said only: “soon, very soon.”
In Turkey on Monday, the U.S. State Department ordered the mandatory departure of U.S. diplomats and family members from the consulate in Adana, a city near Incirlik Air Base, where the U.S. Air Force and other NATO forces operate. The Turkish defense ministry had earlier reported that NATO defenses in the country downed a ballistic missile launched from Iran, the second such incident announced in six days.
As the conflict raged into its 11th day on Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates said it was responding to Iranian strikes, while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said they had intercepted drones, without specifying their origins. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said that one person had been killed from an Iranian attack that hit a residential building in the capital, Manama.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
Death toll: U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran had killed about 1,300 people, according to Iranian officials, while Iranian attacks across the Middle East killed more than 30. The Israeli military said it had killed more than 1,900 Iranians. Israeli strikes have killed almost 500 people in Lebanon, state media reported, and more than 600,000 people have been displaced, according to President Joseph Aoun.
Oil Prices: The international benchmark oil price, priced below $70 last month, briefly jumped to almost $120 late Sunday night, then fell after the Group of 7 wealthy nations said they were considering intervening to bring prices down. It then fell again after Mr. Trump’s remarks to CBS, ending the day below $90. Mr. Trump claimed to CBS that the Strait of Hormuz had reopened to shipping, though international monitors said otherwise, and said he was “thinking about taking it over,” though it was unclear what that would mean.
School hit: A newly released video adds to the evidence that an American missile likely hit an Iranian elementary school where 175 people, many of them children, were reported killed. The evidence contradicts Mr. Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for the strike.
Soccer team: Australia granted humanitarian visas to five members of the Iranian national women’s soccer team after the players were labeled “traitors” by Iran’s state media for declining to sing the country’s national anthem during a tournament. The Australian authorities said on Tuesday that the same offer had been extended to the rest of the team.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/10/world/iran-war-trump-us-israel
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