March 21, 2026 | 11:37 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – US President Donald Trump has said his administration is considering "winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East."
"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
The remarks came just an hour after he told journalists that he had ruled out a ceasefire with the Islamic Republic.
"I think we have won," Trump said at the White House alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "I don't want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side," he added.
In the Truth Social post, Trump laid out US objectives as "degrading Iranian Missile Capability ... Destroying Iran's Defense Industrial Base ... Eliminating their Navy and Air Force ... Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability" and protecting the United States' Middle Eastern allies, specifically mentioning "Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others."
The five Gulf countries he listed have all come under attack from Iran as part of its retaliation against the joint US-Israeli operation.
The US president also addressed the issue of the shuttered Strait of Hormuz, which has sent oil prices soaring and put pressure on Trump to bring the war to an end. Around a fifth of the world's oil normally flows through the waterway.
"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," he added.
US Temporarily Eases Sanctions on Some Iranian Oil
The United States has said that it will temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil that is already on tankers at sea.
The move comes as global oil prices soar due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which a fifth of the world's oil normally passes, has largely ground to a halt due to Iran's attacks on tankers in response to the joint US-Israeli operation.
The US Treasury said "the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Iranian origin loaded on any vessel" on or before March 20 would be "authorized" through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on April 19.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had hinted at the move on Thursday when he told US broadcaster Fox that Washington might "unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water."
"In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days as we continue this campaign," he said.
The US has already temporarily lifted bans on purchases of Russian oil in a bid to curb rising energy prices.
Read: Trump Urges Netanyahu to Halt Attacks on Iran's Energy Hubs
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