Oil prices rose again on Tuesday after a temporary recovery. US President Donald Trump said on Monday evening that the war was “as good as” over. This initially led to a drop in prices. The Revolutionary Guards emphasized that they alone would decide whether to end the war: “We will be the ones who determine the end of the war,” said the elite unit in Tehran. According to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the country wants to continue its missile attacks “as long as necessary.”
In Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest refineries temporarily stopped operations after a drone attack. In the United Arab Emirates, a drone strike caused a fire in an industrial area in Abu Dhabi. According to AFP reporters, strong explosions were heard in the Qatari capital Doha. The Qatari Ministry of Defense reported a missile attack that had been repelled.
Trump’s comments about an alleged early end to the war were read in Washington as a sign of growing disagreements between the US and Israel over war strategy and the duration of the conflict. The Trump administration is under pressure because of rising gasoline prices in the United States. The issue could impact the US midterm elections in November. Trump’s poll numbers had already fallen sharply before the start of the Iran war.
In contrast to Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that the war could continue: Israel’s ambition is to “free the Iranian people from the yoke of tyranny.” There is no doubt “that we are breaking their bones with the measures we have taken so far – and we are not finished yet,” said Netanyahu, referring to the leadership in Tehran.
The Israeli army launched renewed attacks on the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday. A journalist from the AFP news agency reported that the city was rocked by violent explosions.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an intensification of US attacks on Iran on Tuesday: “Today will be the most intense day of our attacks in Iran,” said Hegseth at the Pentagon. His ministry said on the online service X: “We have only just begun to fight.”
According to Lebanese state media, Israel again attacked southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, which are considered strongholds of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia. According to the United Nations, the number of people displaced by Israeli attacks in the country rose by around 100,000 to more than 667,000 within a day.
Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) warned of a possible collapse of Iran as a result of the war. The country’s territorial integrity must be preserved, Wadephul said after a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Jerusalem. “Nobody can have an interest in chaos or civil war or the collapse of Iran. The effects would be significant and would also be felt in Europe.”
The USA and Israel started the Iran war with air strikes on February 28th. On the first day of the war, they killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other members of the Iranian leadership. Tehran has since responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel as well as on several Gulf states and US facilities in the Gulf region. With the appointment of Khamenei’s son Moschtaba as Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday, the ultra-conservatives are defying the USA and Israel. The Revolutionary Guards also closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of the world’s crude oil is normally transported.
