US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday the next few days in the war against Iran would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal.
Hegseth, who reported he visited US troops in the Middle East on Saturday, said President Donald Trump was willing to make a deal with Iran to end the war. Talks were ongoing and gaining strength, but the US was prepared to continue the war if Iran did not comply, he said.
“We have more and more options, and they have less ... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive,” Hegseth said in Washington.
“Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it.”
Responding to a threat against American corporate interests, a White House official said the US military was “prepared to curtail any attacks.”
The month-long conflict has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.
Trump threatened on Monday to obliterate Iran’s energy plants if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil shipments that has effectively been blocked by Iran.
The US president yesterday criticised countries that have not helped the US war effort, such as Britain.
In a social media post, he said that in response to the global fuel shortage, these countries should buy energy from the US or find “some delayed courage, go to the strait and just TAKE IT”.
Pope Leo urged Trump yesterday to look for an “off-ramp” to the war, in an unusual direct appeal from the pontiff to the president.
“Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence,” the Pope told journalists outside his residence near Rome.
Crude oil prices briefly spiked again after an attack on a fully loaded oil tanker off Dubai.
Tight global supplies pushed Brent crude oil futures up a record 64 per cent to about $118 in March.
But the Brent contract for June settled down $3.42 yesterday at $103.97 a barrel following unconfirmed media reports that Iran’s president said the country was ready to end the war, assuming some guarantees were put in place.
Wall Street ended sharply higher on speculation about a potential de-escalation in conflict.
All three major US indexes rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Trump told aides he was willing to end the campaign even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed.
US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Washington that the US was further degrading and destroying Iran’s capabilities.
He said the US military was continuing to strike key manufacturing and research sites and had taken out more than 150 Iranian naval vessels.
Hegseth said US strikes were causing widespread desertions in Iran. With attacks showing no sign of easing, Pakistan is seeking to mediate in the war.
The foreign ministers of China and Pakistan yesterday called for an immediate ceasefire, urging peace talks to be held as soon as possible after they met in Beijing.
Iran has remained defiant despite heavy US and Israeli attacks for the past month.
The Israeli military said it completed a wave of strikes targeting 20 weapons manufacturing sites and a research and development site in Iran.
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