DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� Three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East, Iran threatened to expand its retaliatory attacks to include recreational and tourist sites worldwide, as the U.S. announced it was sending more warships to the region.
Following news of the deployments, President Donald Trump said later Friday on social media that his administration in fact was considering 鈥渨inding down鈥� military operations in the region. The mixed messages came after another prices plunged the U.S. stock market, and was followed by a Trump administration announcement that it will lift sanctions on Iranian oil loaded on ships, a move aimed at wrangling soaring fuel prices.
The war, meanwhile, has shown no signs of abating.
Israel said Iran continued to fire missiles at it early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia said it downed 20 drones in just a couple of hours in the country’s eastern region, which is home to major oil installations. The defense ministry said there were no injuries or damage.
The attacks came a day after Israeli airstrikes hit in Tehran as Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally .
Iran has escalated attacks on its since Israel bombed its massive , while keeping a in the , a through which a fifth of the world鈥檚 oil and other critical goods are transported.
With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained in the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes, which began Feb. 28 鈥� or even who . But Iran’s attacks are still choking off oil supplies and far beyond the Middle East.
Trump says US near completion of its goals
The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from that topples Iran鈥檚 leadership to eliminating its . There have been no public signs of any such uprising and no end to the war in sight.
In his social media post, the president said, 鈥淲e are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.鈥�
That seemed at odds with his administration鈥檚 move to bolster its firepower in the region and request another $200 billion from Congress to fund the war.
The U.S. is deploying three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told The Associated Press. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that ships were deploying, without saying where they were headed. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
Days earlier the U.S. redirected another group of amphibious assault ships carrying another 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East. The Marines will join more than 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region.
Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but also has asserted that he retains all options.
Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, a spokesperson for Iran鈥檚 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, was quoted by a state-run newspaper Friday as saying Iran continues to manufacture missiles despite Israel鈥檚 claim that it destroyed Iran鈥檚 production capabilities. Iranian state television later said Naeini was killed in an airstrike.
Iran threatens attacks beyond the Middle East
Supreme Leader Ayatollah praised Iranians鈥� steadfastness in the face of war in a written statement read on Iranian television to mark Nowruz. He said the U.S. and Israeli attacks were based on an illusion that killing Iran’s top leaders could cause the overthrow of the government.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since he became supreme leader following Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah , and reportedly wounded him. Airstrikes have also killed the head of its Supreme National Security Council and a officials.
Iran鈥檚 top military spokesperson, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned that 鈥減arks, recreational areas and tourist destinations鈥� worldwide will not be safe for the country’s enemies. The threat renewed concerns that Tehran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic.
It remains to be seen if lifting sanctions on Iranian oil will drop prices
, the international standard, has soared during the fighting and was around $108 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war.
The newly announced U.S. pause in sanctions applies to Iranian oil loaded on ships as of Friday and is set to end April 19. The license has limits including a restriction on sales involving anyone in North Korea or Cuba.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously suggested it as a way to prevent China from being the sole beneficiary of Iranian oil.
The new move does not increase the flow of production, a central factor in the . Iran has managed to evade U.S. sanctions for years, suggesting that much of what it exports already reaches buyers.
Looking for ways to during , the Trump administration has previously paused sanctions on certain Russian oil shipments for 30 days, which critics said rewarded Moscow while having only a modest effect on markets.
Israel continues wave of strikes against Hezbollah militants
The Israeli military said early Saturday that it began a wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah militants in Beirut鈥檚 southern suburbs.
Smoke was seen rising, fires broke out and loud explosions were heard across parts of central Beirut. Hours earlier the army renewed evacuation warnings for seven neighborhoods, prompting some residents to fire gunshots to alert families to flee. No injuries were reported.
Israeli strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have displaced more than 1 million people, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 1,000 people have been killed.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.
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This story has been updated to correct the headline to show the war is nearly three weeks in, not four.
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Price reported from Washington, and Watson from San Diego. AP journalists Sam Mednick in Jerusalem; Collin Binkley in West Palm Beach, Florida; David Rising in Bangkok; Panagiotis Pylas in London; Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Lorne Cook in Brussels and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.
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