DUBAI/WASHINGTON, March 21,2026: 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.
In less than 24 hours, Trump 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 were headed to the region on a mission whose goals were not immediately clear.
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 narrow waterway. Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via the strait.
The White House, in an effort to increase supply and lower prices, said it would waive sanctions on Iranian oil for 30 days to allow the sale of 140 million barrels on tankers. The administration had previously eased sanctions on a similar amount of Russian oil.
As 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, issued a message of defiance.
Khamenei – who did not appear at Eid prayers and has not been seen in public since the initial Israeli attack that 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”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent Nowruz greetings to Iran’s leaders, using the occasion to say Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner.
The extent of Moscow’s support for Iran is in dispute though. Some Iranian sources say they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest crisis for Iran since the U.S.-backed shah was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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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National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
Phil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.
