Trump Says ‘Big Decision’ Coming on Iran War

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that his administration is expecting a “big decision” soon on the Iran war, as the conflict has lasted months with little public indication of an end in sight.

The president said that the war is reaching a crossroads on whether to start major attacks against Tehran or try to wind down the conflict.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” he told Axios reporter Barak Ravid.

The U.S. military has effectively paused attacks against Iran since early September, although the U.S. Navy has kept up a blockade on the country’s ports for months.

Trump indicated in the Axios interview that he’s happy with the blockade and said Iranian oil hasn’t been able to pass through the U.S. naval forces.

According to the U.S. Central Command in a Thursday X post, 104 ships have been redirected to comply with the military action.

“Not one ship has gone to Iran since we started. They tried, and we blew them up,” Trump said.

The comments come as oil prices settled about 1 percent lower on Thursday but ​stayed above $100 a barrel, as investors weighed the disruption from strikes by Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis against reports ‌that additional Saudi crude barrels could reach global markets and ease supply concerns.

Brent crude futures closed down $1.01, or 0.95 percent, at $104.82 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 52 cents, or ​0.5 percent, to $101.91 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had fallen about 3 percent on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis exchanged fresh strikes across their border on Thursday, with the spread of the Middle East war to Yemen and Saudi Arabia threatening to worsen the global energy supply shortage.

The Saudis last week announced they shut down a crucial piece of infrastructure, the East-West Pipeline, after strikes were reported.

On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that ⁠crude oil should be flowing through the pipeline within days.

U.S. officials in recent weeks also moved to hit Iran with more sanctions in a bid to isolate and cripple the country’s clerical regime under the Treasury Department’s “Operation Economic Outcast” that was announced in August.

The operation has targeted Iran’s illicit oil trade, financial intermediaries, exchange houses and shipping, aviation, and front companies, said the department in an update on Thursday.

The department on Thursday also designated BitBank, a priority digital assets venture associated with an Iranian financier, under the operation.

BitBank and individuals named by the Treasury on Thursday—Babak Zanjani, Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari—were described as “key components of the Iranian regime’s digital assets-based sanctions evasion infrastructure,” it said.

A top Iranian general, Mohammad Karami, said in a report released by state-run Tasnim News on Thursday that any possible “miscalculation by the enemy will be met with a powerful response.”

Reuters contributed to this report.