Dubai, Apr 1 (AP) US President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that the responsibility for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open should belong with countries that rely on it, rather than the US. He said there’s “no reason for us to do this.” Trump expressed frustration earlier Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil.” Trump recently has vacillated between insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks with Iran and threatening to widen the war.
US gas prices jumped past an average of USD 4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
Israel and the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran early Tuesday. Iran has been launching fewer missiles than at the start of the war, but it continues to deploy more low-flying drones that are harder to intercept. The conflict has killed more than 3,000 people in the region, and millions have been displaced in Lebanon and Iran.
In Iraq, a US journalist has been kidnapped, two officials in the country said Tuesday. It’s not clear if her kidnapping was related to the war.
Here is the latest: White House says Trump to address nation on Iran war — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that Trump will “give an Address to the Nation to provide an important update on Iran” at 9 pm EDT on Wednesday.
Her post came shortly after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening that US forces could leave Iran in “two or three weeks.” Hezbollah leader killed in Beirut strikes, Israel military says – Israel’s military said very early on Wednesday morning that it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior leader in two separate strikes in the Beirut area.
Trump says US finishing ‘the job’ in Iran — He predicted the US will be done with the conflict “within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job. But we want to knock out every single thing they have.” Despite repeatedly listing four or five objectives for the war, Trump said he “had one goal: They will have no nuclear weapon and that goal has been attained.” He did not explain how he felt that goal had been reached.
He said the US may strike a deal with Iran before the next few weeks are up but said, if not, “We’ll hit some bridges, got a couple of nice bridges in mind. But if they come to the table, that’ll be good.” 348 US troops have been wounded in the Iran war – The formal injury count, provided by Capt Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, says six service members were wounded seriously.
Central Command said last Friday in a previous update that 303 troops were wounded, 10 of them seriously.
It was not clear why the tally of serious injuries has since been decreased.
Hawkins says of the total wounded to date, 315 service members have returned to duty.
It’s not clear whether the official US military count includes the injured from multiple attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan air base last week.
Since the Iran war began, 13 US service members have been killed in combat.
2 people killed, several injured in strikes in Beirut – Two people were killed and three were injured very early on Wednesday when a strike hit a car in the Khaldeh area south of the capital, Lebanon’s health ministry said. More were injured as strikes hit another area of the city, according to a local hospital.
The state-run National News Agency said a car was hit on a highway in the Khaldeh area near the Beirut airport to the south of the Lebanese capital.
Other strikes happened in the city’s Jnah neighbourhood in an area with a number of home goods stores. Footage from the scene showed a number of cars on fire.
It was not immediately clear what was targeted or how many casualties there were.
Syria will stay out of the regional war, interim president says – Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was speaking at an event hosted by the Chatham House think tank during a visit to London Tuesday.
“Certainly, unless it is directly targeted by any party, Syria will stay out of this conflict,” he said in response to a question about the ongoing Iran war. “Fourteen years of war are enough for Syria, during which we have paid a very high price. We are not ready to go through a new experience. Anyone who has been through war knows the value of peace.” Syria, which is trying to recover from its own lengthy civil war, is one of the few countries in the region that has managed to remain on the sidelines of the war. (AP) ARB ARB
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