Three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East, Iran threatened on Friday to expand its retaliatory attacks to include recreational and tourist sites worldwide, as the US announced it was sending more warships and Marines to the region.
Hours later, President Donald Trump said on social media that his administration in fact was considering “winding down” military operations in the region. His post came after another climb in oil plunged the US stock market.
The mixed messages came as the war has shown no signs of abating.
US lifts sanctions on Iranian oil at sea amid soaring prices
March 21, 2026 8:47 am
Washington: The United States has announced the temporary lifting of sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil stranded at sea in an effort to cool down soaring global crude prices. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the temporary measure will make available 140 million barrels of Iranian oil to global markets. “This temporary, short-term authorisation is strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production,” Bessent said in a long post on X. PTI
Trump says US near completion of its goals
March 21, 2026 7:59 am
Dubai: In his social media post, the president 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. AP
