President Donald Trump said the US was considering a “gradual winding down” of its military operation against Iran, while Iran and Israel continued to trade blows and Iranian media reported that the Natanz uranium enrichment facility had been attacked, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
In a post on social media, Trump said the US was close to achieving its goals, but insisted that other countries must take the lead in securing the Strait of Hormuz – the sea route, whose near-total blockade threatens to trigger a global energy shock.
Trump and his administration have sent conflicting messages about US goals since the start of the war, now in its fourth week, and traditional US allies are struggling to decide how to respond, Reuters reported.
Trump has hinted that the war could be over as the Iranian threat appears to be being eliminated, while US Marines and heavy landing ships are heading to the region.
“We are getting very close to achieving our goals and are considering reducing our major military effort in the Middle East with respect to the terrorist regime of Iran“, Trump wrote in “Truth Social“.
“The Strait of Hormuz will have to be secured and controlled, if necessary, by other countries that use it – the US does not!“, he added. “If asked, we will assist these countries in their efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, but that should not be necessary once the threat from Iran is eliminated“, Trump also wrote.
The Iranian attack on the US-British base on the island of Diego Garcia demonstrates that European capitals like Berlin are within range of Tehran's missiles, said Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
“Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers against a US target on the island of Diego Garcia“, Zamir said.
“These missiles are not designed to hit Israel“, he warned. "Their range allows them to reach European capitals - Berlin, Paris and Rome are within direct threat range," Zamir said.
According to him, after three weeks of war, the Iranian regime has been weakened and Israel has "halved" its its operations.
Zamir said the Israeli offensive against Iran would continue during the Pesach (Passover) holiday, which begins on the evening of April 1 and lasts for a week.
The traditional Jewish holiday commemorates the Israelites' escape from Egypt and their liberation from slavery.
More than 2,000 people have been killed in Iran since the United States and Israel began their attacks on February 28, Reuters noted.
Meanwhile, American voters appear increasingly uneasy about signs that the scope of the war could widen.
A sharp rise in energy prices is fueling inflation, hitting consumers and businesses hard. This poses a serious political problem for Trump as he tries to justify the war to the American public ahead of November midterm elections that could cost him control of the US Congress.
Trump also accused NATO allies of cowardice for their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Some allies have said they would consider such a move, but most say they do not want to get involved in a war that Trump started without consulting them.
Iranian media reported that US-Israeli forces attacked the Shahid Ahmadi Roshan uranium enrichment complex in Natanz this morning. Technical experts determined that there was no radioactive leak and that residents in the area were not at risk. Israel said it was unaware of any such strike, and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was investigating.
Iranian media also reported strikes on a passenger terminal in the southern port city of Bushehr and an empty passenger ship on Kharg Island. The island, through which almost all of Iran's oil exports pass, is seen as a potential target if Washington decides to strike Iranian energy infrastructure or use ground forces to seize it.
Iran also said it had launched drones at US bases in the UAE and Kuwait that were used to launch attacks on Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.
Israel attacked Beirut, saying it was targeting the Iranian-backed Lebanese group “Hezbollah“. “Hezbollah“ began shelling Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was “determined to continue the attack on the Iranian terrorist regime, to decapitate its leadership and to limit its strategic capabilities until all threats to Israel's security and American interests in the region are eliminated“.
Israel also said it had attacked Tehran, Karaj, west of the capital, and the city of Isfahan. Three members of a family were killed in strikes on a residential building in the city of Ramsar, Iranian media reported.
Air raid sirens in Israel were sounded early in the morning due to approaching missiles, with millions of people taking shelter in shelters as the explosions of intercepted missiles echoed in the sky. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Israeli military confirmed a “direct hit by an Iranian missile“ on a building in the southern Israeli city of Dimona, home to a nuclear research facility, Agence France-Presse reported. About thirty-nine people were injured after one or more Iranian missiles hit the Dimona area, Israeli rescue services said.
The strikes on the Israeli city of Dimona were in response to the attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, Iranian state television said.
Iran fired two ballistic missiles at a US-British military airfield on the island of Diego Garcia, 3,800 kilometers (2,300 miles) in the Indian Ocean, but failed to hit the base, the Wall Street Journal reported. A British defense ministry source said the attack was carried out before the government gave explicit permission yesterday for the United States to use British military bases to strike Iranian missile sites.