After several days of intense escalation, President Donald Trump announced an official end to the war in Iran, pulling back on a series of statements that the United States would continue hitting Iran until a deal was reached.
The conflict intensified earlier this week after Iran shot down a U.S. aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a series of retaliatory strikes as both sides responded to each attack with further bombing.
The U.S. Central Command described Iran’s attacks as “unwarranted and continued aggression,” while Iran’s Foreign Ministry declared the U.S. attacks “effectively rendered the April 8 ceasefire meaningless."
Despite the increasingly hostile rhetoric, yesterday’s events suggested a dramatic shift toward de-escalation, as Trump said “discussions and final points” have been approved by “all parties involved.”
The major objective of this war was to ensure Iran could not develop nuclear weapons by securing all nuclear materials, and yesterday afternoon, Trump said this had finally been achieved.
“They will not have a nuclear weapon, they’ve agreed to that — there will be no, which is the whole reason, which is a big part of the reason,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “They will not only not have, they will not purchase, develop in any way, any shape, in any way, shape or form a nuclear weapon.”
President Trump had spent weeks insisting that an agreement to end the war and reopen the strait was close, while also warning that the U.S. would “bomb the s–t out of them tomorrow night” if negotiations failed.
This promise seemed to hold strong yesterday morning when Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. would not only continue to bomb Iran, but also move to gain control of Kharg Island, which contains about 90% of Iran’s crude exports.
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets,” Trump said.
President Trump said Iran’s supreme leader supports the agreement, but no agreement has officially been signed. The U.S. will lift its blockade when it has been, he said.
