<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States was considering \u201cwinding down\u201d military operations against Iran but was not seeking a ceasefire with the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a> meanwhile, claimed in a message to mark the first day of the Persian New Year to have delivered a \u201cdizzying blow\u201d to enemies in the three-week-old Middle East war.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n On Wall Street, stocks ended sharply lower after oil prices shot up on fears that lengthy supply disruptions could lead to a global economic downturn.<\/p>\n All three major indices were firmly in the red, with the broad-based S&P 500 down 1.5 percent and the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, rising 3.3 percent to $112.19 per barrel.<\/p>\n Turkey lashed out at Israel meanwhile, for striking Syrian army camps in southern Syria, calling it a \u201cdangerous escalation\u201d and urging the international community to intervene.<\/p>\n Syria has so far avoided being dragged into the regional war that began on February 28 when Israel and the United States began striking Iran, which has hit back by firing ballistic missiles and drones at countries across the region.<\/p>\n Lebanon has also been targeted by Israeli airstrikes against Iranian ally Hezbollah<\/a>, which have left more than 1,000 people dead according to the Lebanese health ministry.<\/p>\n Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the United States was \u201cgetting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n The social media post was the strongest indication yet from the US president that he may be prepared to soon end hostilities.<\/p>\n It came shortly after Trump told reporters at the White House that he was not looking for a truce.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have won,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don\u2019t do a ceasefire when you\u2019re literally obliterating the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n In his post, Trump said other nations<\/a> will have to take responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> shipping lane, which has effectively been blockaded by Iran and which sees a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it in peacetime.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it \u2014 The United States does not!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn\u2019t be necessary once Iran\u2019s threat is eradicated.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also said the United States wants to talk to Iran, but \u201cthere\u2019s nobody to talk to\u201d because of the killing of Iran\u2019s former supreme leader and other top officials.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s new supreme leader has not appeared in public since being named to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n In a written statement to mark Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Mojtaba Khamenei said Iranians have \u201cdealt him (the enemy) a dizzying blow so that he now starts uttering contradictory words and nonsense\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, due to the particular unity that has been created between you our compatriots \u2013 despite all the differences in religious, intellectual, cultural and political origins \u2013 the enemy has been defeated,\u201d Khamenei said.<\/p>\n The statement of defiance came as Iranians marked a muted Nowruz punctuated by the sound of loud blasts in eastern and northern Tehran.<\/p>\n Shoppers were out in force buying new clothes and gifts, although pavements were less packed than usual for this time of year, with many people having fled north.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u2018We have won\u2019<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Gulf nations targeted<\/h2>\n