US President Donald Trump said the United States could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks, and \u200bTehran did not have to make a deal as a prerequisite for the conflict to wind down. The remarks underscored the shifting and at times contradictory statements from Washington about how the \u200cwar, now in its fifth week, might end. \u201cWe\u2019ll be leaving very soon,\u201d Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, saying the exit could take place \u201cwithin two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three.\u201d Asked if successful diplomacy with Iran was a prerequisite for the US to conclude what it has dubbed \u201cOperation Epic Fury\u201d, Trump said it was not. \u201cIran doesn\u2019t have to make a deal, no,\u201d he said. \u201cNo, they don\u2019t have to make a deal with me.\u201d The White House later said Trump would address the nation \u201cto provide an important update on Iran\u201d \u200bat 9pm EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday). Washington previously threatened to intensify military operations if Tehran did not accept a 15-point US ceasefire framework that had among its core demands that Iran commit not \u200bto pursue nuclear weapons, halt all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier on Tuesday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump was willing to make \u2060a deal with Iran to end the war that has killed thousands, spread across the region, disrupted energy supplies and threatened to send the global economy into a tailspin. The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US and \u200ballies open the Strait of Hormuz by force, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Tuesday, in an effort to end the effective closure of the shipping lane through which about a fifth of the world\u2019s daily oil and liquefied \u200bnatural gas supply usually passes. The UAE is seeking a UN Security Council resolution for the action and suggested the US occupy strategic islands, according to the report. While the United States has said talks with Iran were ongoing, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that he has been receiving direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff but they do not constitute \u201cnegotiations\u201d, Qatar\u2019s Al Jazeera TV cited him as saying. The messages include threats or exchanged views delivered through \u201cfriends,\u201d he added. Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday hit back with a \u200bnew threat against US companies in the region starting on Wednesday. It listed 18 businesses, including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing, that would be targeted from 8pm Tehran time. When asked if he was concerned \u200babout threats to the companies, Trump said no. War continues to rage The war has also revived conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. At least seven people were killed and 24 wounded in two Israeli strikes in the Beirut area, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday, in attacks that hit vehicles in Beirut\u2019s southern outskirts and in an area just south of the capital. Israel\u2019s military said on Wednesday it carried out two separate strikes targeting a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior member of \u200bthe Iran-aligned group in the Beirut area. It did not \u200bidentify them or say whether they had been \u2060killed. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the strikes. With the conflict in the Middle East showing no sign of easing, Pakistan is seeking to mediate in the war. The foreign ministers of China and Pakistan on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire, urging peace talks to be held as soon as possible after they met in Beijing. Iran has remained defiant \u200bdespite heavy US and Israeli attacks for the past month, as neighbours have been pulled into the conflict. Syrian state television reported that explosions heard in Damascus were \u200bthe result of Israeli air defences \u2060intercepting Iranian missiles. A weather station\u2019s radar and building in the Iranian port of Bushehr were put out of service on Tuesday after being hit twice in US-Israeli attacks, a regional official told state media. The Mobarakeh steel plant in the central city of Isfahan was attacked for the second time in a week, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, and parts of the Sefiddasht Steel Complex in the city of Borujen were targeted, according to the Fars news agency. Reuters could not immediately verify \u2060the battlefield reports. Higher \u200boil and fuel prices have started to weigh on US household finances and are a political headache for Trump and his Republican Party before \u200bthe November midterm elections. The US national average retail price of gasoline crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in over three years on Monday, data from price-tracking service GasBuddy showed. Two-thirds of Americans believe the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if \u200bthat means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters\/Ipsos poll found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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