US President Donald Trump has allowed the sale of some Iranian oil to contain surging crude prices and floated “winding down” military efforts.
Trump’s comments came shortly after he ruled out a ceasefire and kept the door open to deploying ground troops. 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.
“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on social media.
Photo: AP
However, Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz yesterday said the joint campaign would intensify significantly, a day after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia.
The base was not damaged, a person familiar with the matter said, but the attack demonstrated a capability that goes beyond what Iran was known to have possessed.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had informed it that the Natanz nuclear site had been attacked and that there were no reports of an increase in off-site radiation levels at the site, which is one of Iran’s key enrichment facilities.
The war also continued to affect Gulf neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, which said Iran had fired eight drones and three missiles at the country.
It is unclear how Iran would respond to any unilateral decision by the US to pause strikes after recent attacks that targeted the country’s energy infrastructure and killed more high-profile officials, including Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani.
Despite weeks of US-Israeli bombardment, the regime is not close to falling, and is instead coalescing around the remaining hardliners, western intelligence assessments and people familiar with the matter said.
Iranian officials have become reluctant to even discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz amid the intense bombing campaign, which continued overnight.
The Israeli army said it was striking targets in Tehran and had detected missiles launched from Iran, which continued to launch retaliatory strikes at Gulf Arab neighbors as well.
Trump also addressed the Strait, pressuring allies to help the US secure the waterway militarily, but indicated that he would leave that effort to other nations.
“The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” Trump said. “If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them.”
Trump’s suggestion that the nations most reliant on Mideast energy and other goods shipped through the Strait should have the responsibility of policing it belies the global reach of the oil market.
Even though the US is pumping a record amount of oil, crude prices are set in a world market, so supply shocks tied to the Strait would ripple from Beijing to Washington.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
RSS