DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. , telling them to 鈥済o get your own oil鈥� and saying it was not America’s job to secure .
The president said the military could end its offensive in two to three weeks and that the U.S. 鈥渨ill not have anything to do with鈥� what happens next in the strait that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.
There鈥檚 鈥渘o reason for us to do this,鈥� Trump said after signing an executive order that seeks to restrict mail-in voting. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not for us. That鈥檒l be for France. That鈥檒l be for whoever鈥檚 using the strait.鈥�
The White House said Trump would deliver a prime-time address Wednesday evening to update the public on the war.
In other developments, the closure of the strait sent average U.S. gas prices , and U.S. strikes hit the central city of Isfahan, sending a massive fireball into the sky. Tehran in the Persian Gulf.
The attacks showed the more than a month after the U.S. and Israel launched it. The conflict has left more than 3,000 dead and caused major disruptions to the world鈥檚 supply of oil and natural gas, roiling global markets and pushing up the cost of many basic goods.
Trump, whose comments have vacillated between talk that diplomatic progress is being made with Iran and , had earlier shared footage of the attack on Isfahan.
Fuel prices rise, rattling global markets
Iran鈥檚 stranglehold on the strait, the waterway leading out of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world鈥檚 oil is transported during peacetime, has , as have Tehran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure.
Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around $107 a barrel Tuesday, up more than 45% since the war started Feb. 28.
In a social media post, Trump directed blame at U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom and France that with no clear endgame that they were not consulted on.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won鈥檛 be there to help you anymore, just like you weren鈥檛 there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!鈥� Trump wrote.
He singled out France for not letting planes fly over French territory while taking military supplies to Israel.
France has allowed the U.S. Air Force to use the Istres base in southern France because it had guarantees that planes landing there would not be involved in carrying out strikes.
Allies have refused to get involved
Spain, which has emerged as Europe’s loudest critic of the war, said Monday that it had for U.S. planes involved in the conflict.
Italy recently refused to allow U.S. military assets to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive, an official with knowledge of the matter said, confirming a local press report. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on X that Italy is still allowing the U.S. to use its bases, adding that there has been no cooling of relations between the two countries.
Journalist kidnapped in Iraq
An American journalist was in , and Iraqi security forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said. The journalist was identified as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets she worked for.
A U.S. official blamed the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
Two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed, and a person inside was apprehended. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on X that the State Department had “fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them.鈥�
In a statement, Al-Monitor said it stands by her 鈥渧ital reporting.鈥� Kittleson has been a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria and Iraq.
Another aircraft carrier deploys to Middle East
The aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush deployed Tuesday from Norfolk, Virginia, and is slated to head to the Middle East, two U.S. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
It would be the third carrier sent out to support the Iran war, along with the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is now undergoing repairs, and the USS Abraham Lincoln, which arrived in the region in January.
Trump warned this week that if a ceasefire is not reached 鈥渟hortly,鈥� and if the strait is not reopened, the U.S. would broaden its offensive, including by attacking the oil export hub and possibly .
Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not say if U.S. ground forces would enter the war. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to have to do more militarily than we have to,鈥� he said.
A ground invasion could alienate Iranians who despise the ruling theocracy and who rose up in earlier this year. Some could see it as an attack on Iran itself and rally around the flag.
Since the Iran war began, 13 U.S. have been killed and 348 wounded, six seriously, according to a formal count provided Tuesday by Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
Iran hits oil tanker as Israel strikes Iran and Lebanon
The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior leader in two separate in the Beirut area.
Military officials said they launched strikes targeting what they described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel plans to control the area south of the Litani River 鈥� some 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the wider war. Many Lebanese fear .
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates has barred Iranians from entering or transiting the country as the war rages, three major airlines said. The long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, as well as the lower-cost airline FlyDubai, made the announcements Wednesday on their websites.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.
Two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people , and more than 1 million displaced.
Ten Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon, including four announced Tuesday.
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Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Superville from Washington. David Rising in Bangkok, Abby Sewell and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Giada Zampano in Rome, Giovanna Dell鈥橭rto in Miami and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
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