Trump mulls ‘winding down’ war

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and Beirut on Saturday after United States President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran following three weeks of war.

After Iranian missile fire at Israel overnight, the Israeli military said it had carried out strikes on what it called “regime targets” in Iran’s capital, which has been under bombardment since a US-Israeli attack started the war on 28 February.

The latest barrage came as Trump signaled a retreat from the objective of regime change in Iran and the Treasury Department lifted sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea to ease global supply fears.

“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East,” Trump said in a social media post.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and the Pentagon “predicted it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve this mission,” as the conflict headed towards a fourth week on Saturday.

However, US media reported Friday that Washington was deploying thousands of Marines to the Middle East, in a possible sign of a coming ground operation.

Trump told reporters he was not looking for a truce because Washington was “obliterating” Iran.

But Tehran has kept up its retaliatory drone and missile attacks on Gulf nations it accuses of serving as launchpads for US strikes, as well as on Israel.

Kuwait reported a missile and drone attack early Saturday and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted more than two dozen drones, as Muslims in the region and beyond celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Israel had shuttered access to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s annexed Old City and other holy sites, citing wartime restrictions but angering Muslim worshippers.

“Al-Aqsa has been taken from us,” said Wajdi Mohammed Shweiki, a Palestinian man in his 60s.

“It’s a catastrophic situation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for Palestinians in general and for all Muslims across the globe.”

Israel has accused Iran of attacking holy sites in Jerusalem after a strike left a crater in the Old City near Al-Aqsa, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Eid prayers

Thousands of Muslims held Eid al-Fitr prayers in Iran on Saturday to mark the end of the Ramadan fast against the backdrop of the Middle East war, state television footage showed.

Iran, a majority-Shia nation, marked the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan a day after most other Muslim countries, which are mainly Sunni.

The Islamic republic’s supreme leader traditionally leads the Eid prayers but Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since his appointment earlier this month, did not attend.

The head of the judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, however, attended the prayer at central Tehran’s Imam Khomeini grand mosque — named after the founder of the Islamic republic.

For lack of space, many worshippers followed the prayer outside, with state television showing images of crowded areas around the mosque, despite the risk of strikes.