Nearly five weeks into a war that has killed thousands of people across Iran and Lebanon, President Donald Trump signalled Tuesday that the United States could wind down its military campaign within weeks — deal or no deal.
‘We’ll be leaving very soon — maybe two weeks, maybe three,’ Trump said, adding that the threshold for withdrawal was not a diplomatic agreement but rather the destruction of Iran’s capacity to develop a nuclear weapon. ‘When we feel that they are, for a long period of time, put into the Stone Ages and they won’t be able to come up with a nuclear weapon, then we’ll leave,’ he stated. Iran has consistently maintained its nuclear programme is peaceful and that it has never sought to build a weapon.
The remarks came as US-Israeli strikes targeted pharmaceutical companies and steel plants in Isfahan and Farokhshahr, deepening the assault on Iran’s industrial base. Trump is scheduled to deliver an Address to the Nation on Wednesday at 9 p.m. local time, a speech the White House confirmed through spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
Despite Trump’s overtures, Tehran showed no sign of softening. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that he has no faith in talks with Washington and that, while messages have been exchanged, no formal negotiations are under way. The diplomatic impasse underscores how far the two sides remain from any resolution as the conflict grinds into its second month.
On the Lebanese front, the war’s human cost continued to mount. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 1,200 people and displaced 1.2 million since March 2, with Israel conducting both aerial bombardment and a ground invasion in the south. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that two Israeli strikes on southern Beirut killed seven people and wounded 24 others. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz escalated the rhetoric further, declaring that homes in southern Lebanon would be demolished and that hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians would not be permitted to return.
Hezbollah claimed its fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli troops near the town of Shamaa in south Lebanon and fired rockets at Israeli soldiers and vehicles in Al-Qantara. The group also claimed rocket attacks on the Yodifat Military Industries company east of Haifa and on the Machanayim military camp east of Safed.
The Israeli military announced the deaths of four soldiers in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, all members of the Nahal Brigade. Three were buried at funerals in Sderot, Bat Yaman, and Lehavim; a fourth, killed on Monday, was set to be interred separately.
The conflict’s economic shockwaves are reverberating globally. Brent crude for June delivery rose 66 cents, or 0.63 percent, to $104.63 per barrel by 00:10 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures for May climbed 96 cents, or 0.95 percent, to $102.34 per barrel. Brent futures recorded a historic 64 percent monthly gain in March, the largest since LSEG data began in June 1988. Domestic petrol prices in the United States have surpassed an average of $4 a gallon, a consequence of Iranian attacks on Gulf oil facilities. With one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the conflict’s energy implications are acute. Democratic Senator Chris Coons placed the blame squarely on the administration, saying Trump’s war in Iran has made everything more expensive.
Allied cohesion is fraying. Spain barred the use of its Naval Station Rota and Moron airbase for US military operations, while Switzerland suspended weapons exports to the United States worth roughly $120 million annually. Trump lashed out on Truth Social at countries ‘like the United Kingdom’ for refusing to join military action, telling allied nations to ‘Go get your own oil!’ US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth separately highlighted Britain’s reluctance, though UK Defence Secretary John Healey, speaking during a visit to Qatar, insisted his country remained a key American ally. Trump also branded France as ‘VERY UNHELPFUL’ for blocking US aircraft bound for Israel from flying over French territory; President Emmanuel Macron‘s office confirmed the decision, stating France had not altered its position since the conflict began.
On the diplomatic periphery, China and Pakistan jointly released a five-point initiative calling for the restoration of peace in the Middle East. Argentina, meanwhile, designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, aligning Buenos Aires more closely with Washington and Tel Aviv. Iranian state media warned that Elon Musk‘s Starlink satellite internet service is among Iran’s legitimate targets; the use of Starlink inside Iran already carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment. In Baghdad, authorities reported that a foreign journalist had been kidnapped, adding to the broader regional instability the conflict has unleashed.
