Trump & Iraq: NATO Withdrawal After Attacks

US President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed the possibility of a truce with Iran and declared that Washington has the upper hand in the three-week war.

“I don’t want to call a truce. You know, you don’t call a truce when you’re literally crushing the other side,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Florida.

Asked if Israel would be ready to end the war with him, Trump said he thought so. He emphasized that the relations between the two countries are “very good”. According to him, the United States and Israel are pursuing the same goal. “We want victory – both of us. And that’s what we have,” the president added.

Relatives of a British couple jailed in Iran said on Friday that Lindsay and Craig Foreman are being used as “human shields” during the US-Israeli war against Iran. Their loved ones criticize the British government for not making progress in negotiations for their release. Reuters reported about it.

The British couple were detained in January 2025 while passing through Iran as part of their motorcycle ride around the world, where they were subsequently accused of espionage and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Joe Bennett, Lindsay Foreman’s son, said in a media interview that his parents are being used as “effective human shields” during Iran’s war with Israel and the US. He added that they live for the “roar of drones”, of which up to 600 will appear over Tehran every day during the war.

The US military can “neutralize” Khark Island “at any time if US President Donald Trump gives the order”, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP.

It was responding to media reports that the Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade the oil hub in order to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has largely blocked.

Khark Island is a key hub of Iran’s energy infrastructure, supplying around 90 percent of the Islamic Republic’s oil exports.

Kelly added that “through detailed planning, the entire administration was and is prepared for any possible action by the terrorist Iranian regime.”

According to her, Trump knew full well that Tehran would try to restrict navigation and the free flow of energy, and therefore has already taken steps to destroy more than 40 mine-laying vessels.

Iran’s effective blockade in the area has paralyzed commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and contributed to a sharp rise in world oil prices.

AFP recalled that, according to Trump, the United States had “completely destroyed” all military targets in Kharka on Friday. At the same time, the president threatened that the US military will also attack the island’s infrastructure if Iran continues the blockade.

On Thursday, Trump referred to Khark as a “little oil island that’s completely unprotected here,” adding that the U.S. strikes “destroyed everything but the pipelines.”

In her statement, Kelly responded to an article by the Axios portal, according to which the US government is considering the occupation or blockade of the island of Chark. At the same time, several American media reported on the deployment of thousands of additional American soldiers to the Middle East, which could allegedly signal a ground operation being prepared three weeks after the start of the American-Israeli attack on Iran.

Debris from an Iranian missile fell near the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem on Friday. Israel condemned the attack as a manifestation of the “madness of the Iranian regime,” the website i24news reported.

The Israeli police at the scene of the crime told AFP that the location near the walls was apparently hit by debris after the missile was neutralized by air defense.

NATO has temporarily withdrawn its personnel from its mission in Iraq as the fallout from the Israeli-American war against Iran raises security concerns, two Alliance officials told AFP.

“This is a temporary withdrawal. They are concerned about the situation,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.

A second source said “the entire NATO mission has been withdrawn” except for a small contingent.

The mission, which includes several hundred personnel, is based in Baghdad, near the US embassy, ​​which is a frequent target of attacks.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Friday denied claims that it was operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The movement responded after authorities there announced that they had broken up a “terrorist network” controlled and financed by Hezbollah and Iran and detained its members.

In a statement, the movement said it “denies the fabricated allegations leveled against it by the UAE security authorities”.

“Hezbollah does not operate in the UAE or any other country under a cover name, under a business company or in any other way,” the movement said.

UAE authorities say the alleged network “sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external plans threatening the country’s financial stability” as part of a “pre-determined strategic plan in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran”, the official WAM news agency said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei released another statement on Friday praising the resilience of Iranians amid ongoing attacks and saying the Islamic Republic’s enemies are losing the war against the US and Israel. AP and AFP agencies, as well as Sky News and al-Jazeera television, reported on it.

Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader after the death of his father Ali Khamenei, has not appeared in public since the beginning of the conflict. However, several statements have already been published under his name – in today’s message, the third in a row, issued on the occasion of the Persian New Year (Nourouz), he emphasized the unity of Iranian society.

The US military has sent three more warships with about 2,500 Marines to the Middle East, an unnamed US official said on Friday. This source confirmed that the USS Boxer and two other amphibious assault ships, along with soldiers from the 11th Marine Airlift Wing, had left their home port in San Diego and were heading to the Middle East.

Two other US officials said the ships were on their way, without specifying where they were headed. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, AP writes.

If the war with Iran continues for many more months, American consumers will likely “start to back off,” Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller told CNBC this morning.

Consumer spending drives two-thirds of US economic activity.

“They’re looking at their gas tank, they’re looking at the price, and they’re looking at how much money they’re spending on the car compared to other things,” Waller said. “That’s starting to affect how consumers view the economy.”

“So all of these things could lead to that [ekonomiku] they’re going to throw, I don’t want to say, into a recession, but suddenly into a much greater weakening of the economy than we thought,” he said.

Donald Trump has called NATO allies “cowards” and said it would be “easy” for them to allow ships to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is his post on Truth Social in full:

“Without the US, NATO is just a paper tiger. They didn’t want to get involved in the fight to stop Iran with nuclear weapons. Now that the fight is won militarily and there’s minimal danger to them, they complain about the high oil prices they’re forced to pay, but they don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which is a simple military maneuver that’s the only reason for high oil prices. It’s so easy for them and the risk is minimal. Cowards, and so are we.” we will remember!”

NATO announced on Friday that it is “modifying” its mission in Iraq. The country’s officials had previously said that non-combat forces had temporarily withdrawn due to the war in the Middle East.

“We can confirm that we are adjusting our position within the NATO mission in Iraq,” Alliance spokeswoman Allison Hart said in a statement to the French agency, declining to provide more detailed information for security reasons.

NATO “closely cooperates with allies and partners” in this matter, she added.

As part of any long-term political solution after a Middle East war, Iran must make significant concessions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced this on Friday during his visit to Israel.

“Whatever the outcome of the ongoing military operations, it must be accompanied by a political solution that will bring lasting results,” Barrot told reporters in Tel Aviv. “In this regard, the Iranian regime must be prepared to make significant concessions – a radical change of attitude,” he added.

According to him, France and its allies will continue to work to find a permanent solution.

Iran’s military warned Israeli and US officials on Friday that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” around the world are not safe for Tehran’s enemies.

“We are watching your cowardly representatives and commanders, pilots and reckless soldiers,” Iranian Armed Forces spokesman Abolfazl Sekarci said in a statement. “From now on, based on the information we have about you, even parks, recreation areas and tourist destinations anywhere in the world will no longer be safe for you,” he stressed.

His statement, according to AP, confirms analysts’ fears that Iran could be preparing various forms of attacks on foreign officials outside the Middle East in order to increase pressure on Israel and the United States.

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), warned that it could take six months to restore oil and gas flows from the Persian Gulf.

Birol added that politicians and markets are underestimating the extent of disruption to oil and gas infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region.

The pro-Palestinian group The Earthquake Faction set fire to a hall belonging to the arms company LPP Holding in Pardubice, recording the act on video.