Trump says Iran war may end within weeks

International

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump said Tuesday that American forces would withdraw from Iran within weeks, leaving other nations to secure a key oil route as the month-long conflict showed signs of winding down.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump estimated the US military would exit Iranian territory in two weeks, maybe three.

"We're finishing the job," he said per a report by Agence France-Presse. "We want to knock out every single thing they have."

He left open the possibility of a deal, saying a negotiated end could come even sooner.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the joint campaign had reshaped the region.

"We had to act, and we acted," Netanyahu said. "We have changed the face of the Middle East."

On the ground in Lebanon, Israeli strikes continued against Hezbollah positions. The Lebanese health ministry reported early Wednesday that seven people died in attacks on south Beirut and surrounding areas.

At least eight others, including a paramedic, were killed the previous day in southern Lebanon. The country's death toll has now exceeded 1,200, with more than one million people displaced.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would maintain control over parts of southern Lebanon after fighting ends and would demolish homes in border villages.

Trump said countries like France and China would need to protect their own ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that Iran has blocked. The strait normally carries one fifth of the world's oil supply.

In a Truth Social post, the US president criticized NATO allies for not helping secure the strait.

"The U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us," he wrote. "Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil."

Wall Street reacted positively to signs the conflict might be nearing an end, with Brent crude futures dropping more than three percent to $103.97 per barrel.

Trump and Netanyahu launched the military campaign on February 28, which included a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparked retaliatory attacks across the region.(Jene-V N. Sayson, CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)