Trump hints at wind-down of war as US sends more troops and Iran
threatens tourism sites
[March 21, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL, MICHELLE L. PRICE and JULIE WATSON
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he
was considering “winding down” military operations in the Middle East
even as the United States is sending three more amphibious assault ships
and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region.
Trump’s post Friday on social media followed an Iranian threat to attack
recreational and tourist sites worldwide and another day of the
airstrikes and drone and missile attacks that have engulfed the region.
The mixed messages from the United States came after another climb in
oil prices plunged the U.S. stock market, and was followed by a Trump
administration announcement it was lifting sanctions on Iranian oil
already loaded on ships, a move aimed at wrangling soaring fuel prices.
The 3-week-old war has shown no signs of abating, with Israel saying
Iran continued to fire missiles at it early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia
said it downed 20 drones in just a couple of hours in the country's
eastern region, which is home to major oil installations.
The attacks came a day after Israeli airstrikes hit in Tehran as
Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally
festive holiday that has been muted by the war.
Trump says US near completion of its goals
The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from
hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to
eliminating its nuclear and missile programs. There have been no public
signs of any such uprising and no end to the war in sight.
On social media, Trump said, “We are getting very close to meeting our
objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the
Middle East.”
That seemed at odds with his administration’s move to bolster its
firepower in the region and request another $200 billion from Congress
to fund the war.
The United States is deploying three more amphibious assault ships and
roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told
The Associated Press. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that ships were
deploying, without saying where they were headed. All three spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
Days earlier the U.S. redirected another group of amphibious assault
ships carrying another 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle
East. The Marines will join more than 50,000 U.S. troops already in the
region.
Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but also
has asserted that he retains all options.
Iran threatens attacks beyond the Middle East
Iran’s top military spokesperson, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned Friday
that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide will
not be safe for the country’s enemies. The threat renewed concerns that
Tehran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a
pressure tactic.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised Iranians’
steadfastness in the face of war in a written statement read on Iranian
television to mark Nowruz. Khamenei has not been seen in public since he
became supreme leader following Israeli strikes that killed his father,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and reportedly wounded him.
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A man prays over the graves of Hezbollah fighters killed, at Al-Hawraa
Zaynab Cemetery during Eid al-Fitr in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern
suburbs, Lebanon, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how
much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained in
the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes, which began Feb. 28 — or
even who was truly in charge of the country. But Iran’s attacks are
still choking off oil supplies and raising food and fuel prices far
beyond the Middle East.
Israel continues wave of strikes against Hezbollah militants
The Israeli military said early Saturday that it began a wave of
strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Beirut’s
southern suburbs.
Smoke was seen rising, fires broke out and loud explosions were
heard across parts of central Beirut, hours after the Israeli army
renewed evacuation warnings for seven neighborhoods.
Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed more than
1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the
Lebanese government.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. In
Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four
others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S.
military members have been killed.
US pauses sanctions on Iranian oil
Brent crude oil, the international standard, has soared during the
fighting and was around $106 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before
the war.
The newly announced U.S. pause in sanctions applies to Iranian oil
loaded on ships as of Friday and is set to end April 19.
The new move does not increase the flow of production, a central
factor in the surging prices. Iran has managed to evade U.S.
sanctions for years, suggesting that much of what it exports already
reaches buyers.
Looking for ways to boost global oil supplies during the Iran war,
the Trump administration has previously paused sanctions on certain
Russian oil shipments for 30 days, which critics said rewarded
Moscow while having only a modest effect on markets.
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Price reported from Washington, and Watson from San Diego. AP
journalists Collin Binkley in West Palm Beach, Florida and
Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.
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