President Donald Trump says he is considering “winding down” military operations in the Middle East. Trump's social media post comes as the U.S. is sending three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region. The mixed messages come after oil prices climbed yet again, putting pressure on the U.S. stock market.
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Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyJurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to childrenPete Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric draws renewed scrutiny after the US goes to war with IranDEA nombra a Petro “objetivo prioritario” mientras fiscales de EEUU investigan nexos con narcosIranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, during a funeral procession in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Iranians reach toward the coffins as they follow the funeral procession of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Two women and a child holding an Iranian flag walk toward the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque to attend Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. 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. Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, during a funeral procession in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, during a funeral procession in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Iranians reach toward the coffins as they follow the funeral procession of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Iranians reach toward the coffins as they follow the funeral procession of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Two women and a child holding an Iranian flag walk toward the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque to attend Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. Two women and a child holding an Iranian flag walk toward the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque to attend Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. 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. 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. 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.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 normallynuclear and missile programs 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’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.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 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 whoThe 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.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., 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 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.Price reported from Washington, and Watson from San Diego. AP journalists Collin Binkley in West Palm Beach, Florida and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006.Price covers the White House. She previously covered the 2024 presidential campaign and politics, government and other news in New York, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. She is based in Washington.Watson covers immigration, US-Mexico border issues and the environment, and helps direct coverage of California and Nevada for The Associated Press. She’s reported from Mexico, Central and South America, and was a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist.
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