By Nandita Bose, Steven Scheer and Yomna Ehab
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/CAIRO, April 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the end of the war on Iran could be near, with Washington signaling potential for both direct talks with Tehran’s leadership and a winding down of the conflict even without a deal.
The remarks underscored the shifting and at times contradictory timelines and statements from Washington about how and when the war, now in its fifth week, might end.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, saying the exit could take place “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three.”
Asked if successful diplomacy was a prerequisite for the U.S. to end what it calls “Operation Epic Fury”, Trump said it was not.
“Iran doesn’t have to make a deal, no,” he said. “No, they don’t have to make a deal with me.”
Washington had previously threatened to intensify operations if Tehran did not accept a 15-point U.S. ceasefire framework that had among its core demands that Iran commit not to pursue nuclear weapons, halt all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The White House said Trump would address the nation “to provide an important update on Iran” at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday).
Rubio told Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” program there was potential for a meeting between both sides “at some point” and the United States could “see the finish line”.
“It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming,” Rubio added.
TANKER HIT OFF QATAR, BLAZES IN BAHRAIN, KUWAIT
Still, attacks were reported on both sides early on Wednesday, with drones hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport causing a big blaze and authorities in Bahrain reporting a fire at an undisclosed company facility from an Iranian attack.
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile near the Qatari capital Doha causing damage to the hull at the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding the crew were safe.
Explosions were heard in multiple areas of Tehran early Wednesday after U.S.-Israeli air attacks, Iranian state media reported, adding that its air defences were activated.
Shahid Haghani Port, Iran’s largest passenger terminal located in Bandar Abbas port on the Gulf, was hit by an overnight air strike but there were no casualties, the deputy governor Ahmad Nafisi told state media, calling it a “criminal” attack against civilian infrastructure.
Gulf countries, some home to U.S. bases, have been repeatedly fired on by Tehran during the U.S.-Israeli war, with concerns mounting about Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ability to use the vital waterway, a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as a bargaining chip.
Oil markets were subdued as trading resumed in Asia on Wednesday but stocks and bonds rallied at the start of the session on hopes of a de-escalation. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 2.7% after a four-day losing streak as the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.9% at one point after Trump’s latest remarks.
Stocks on Wall Street soared on Tuesday as traders bet on the potential off-ramp, sending the S&P 500 2.9% higher.
U.S. MESSAGING IS NOT NEGOTIATIONS, IRAN SAYS
Higher oil and fuel prices have started to weigh on U.S. household finances and are a political headache for Trump and his Republican Party before the November midterm elections.
Two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the U.S. and allies open the Strait of Hormuz by force, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Tuesday, in an effort to end its effective closure.
The UAE is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution for the action and suggested the U.S. 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 U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff but those do not constitute “negotiations”, Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV cited him as saying.
The messages include threats or exchanged views delivered through “friends,” he added.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday hit back with a new threat against U.S. 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 8 p.m. Tehran time (1630 GMT).
When asked if he was concerned about threats to the companies, Trump said no.
Trump earlier on Tuesday also criticized countries that have not helped the U.S. war effort, such as NATO member Britain.
“NATO is a one-way street,” Secretary of State Rubio told the Fox news show, noting Europe was eager for the U.S. to defend it but had not stepped up to provide the help the U.S. sought.
“After this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship,” Rubio said.
WAR CONTINUES TO RAGE
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it had carried out more than 800 strike sorties against Iranian targets during the war involving 16,000 munitions and 5,000 new targets identified. The Israel military also said it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel, adding that air defence systems were operating to intercept the threat.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis joined the regional war in recent days, launching missiles at Israel in support of Tehran.
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.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it carried out two separate strikes targeting a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior member of the Iran-aligned group in the Beirut area. It did not identify them or say whether they had been killed.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the strikes.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Costas Pitas and Martin Petty; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Lincoln Feast.)