WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end “soon”, claiming American forces had already destroyed most of their targets in the country, as Tehran warned it would expand attacks against US and Israeli economic interests across the region.
In a phone interview with Axios on Wednesday, Trump said there was “practically nothing left to target” in Iran following nearly two weeks of US-Israeli military operations.
“Little this and that… Any time I want it to end, it will end,” Trump said.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷President Trump told me in a phone interview Wednesday that the war with Iran will end "soon" because there is "practically nothing left" to target. "Little this and that… Any time I want it to end, it will end," Trump said. My story on @axios https://t.co/Z9iL47VRq2
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) March 11, 2026
The conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran.
US officials said the operation targeted military facilities and government sites across Iran.
Iranian state television reported that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran during the first day of the strikes.
His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as Iran’s news Supreme Leader on Monday.
140 US troops injured
Trump told Axios that the joint military campaign had exceeded expectations.
“The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable,” he said.
“We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period.”
He also accused Iran of destabilising the region over decades.
“They were after the rest of the Middle East. They are paying for 47 years of death and destruction they caused. This is payback. They will not get off that easy,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon said that around 140 US service members had been wounded during the first ten days of the conflict.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States and Israel were “winning” the war and rapidly achieving their objectives.
Israel vows prolonged war
Despite Trump’s suggestion that the conflict could end soon, Israeli officials signalled the campaign would continue.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the joint operation would proceed “as long as necessary”.
“This operation will continue without any time limit, as long as necessary, until we achieve all the objectives and win the campaign,” Katz said during a meeting with military leaders in Tel Aviv.
“We will continue to act and crush the regime and also the strategic objectives of this regime in Tehran and throughout Iran day after day, target after target,” he added.
Katz also called the remaining Iranian leadership “cowards” who “flee like mice into the tunnels”.
Iran threatens economic retaliation
Iran meanwhile warned it would expand retaliation by targeting economic and financial interests linked to the United States and Israel.
A spokesperson for Iran’s central operational military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, said Tehran now considered banks and economic centres connected to Washington and Israel as legitimate targets.
“The enemy has given us free rein to target economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime,” the command said in a statement carried by Iranian state television.
The warning followed an overnight strike on an administrative building linked to Bank Sepah, one of Iran’s largest state-owned banks, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari said the attack had prompted Iran to broaden its list of targets.
“With this illegitimate action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic centres and banks linked to the US and the Zionist regime in the region,” he said.
Zolfaqari also warned that Iran would move from “reciprocal strikes” to continuous attacks.
“We won’t allow even one litre of oil to reach the US, Zionists and their partners,” he said, according to Reuters.
“Any vessel or tanker bound to them will be a legitimate target.”
Strait of Hormuz tensions
Iran has also escalated threats around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route.
Iran’s military warned that ships belonging to the United States, Israel or their allies passing through the strait could be targeted, according to AFP.
Separately, Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, said vessels must obtain permission from Iran before transiting the waterway.
به کشتیها برای عبور از #تنگه_هرمز اطمینان داده بودند؟
این را باید از خدمه کشتیهای expres rome و mayuree naree جویا شد که امروز بااعتماد به وعدههای توخالی به اخطارها بیتوجهی کردند و قصد عبور از تنگه را داشتند اما گرفتار شدند.
هر شناوری قصد عبوردارد باید از #ایران اجازه بگیرد.— علیرضا تنگسیری (@alirezatangsiri) March 11, 2026
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out strikes against two ships in the strait, including vessels identified as Express Room and Mayuree Naree, after they ignored warnings from the IRGC Navy.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitoring agency said at least three ships were struck by unidentified projectiles in separate incidents near the strait on Wednesday.
One of the ships, the Thai bulk carrier Mayuree Naree, was hit near Oman.
Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said the attack caused a fire in the vessel’s engine room.
A vessel from the Royal Navy of Oman evacuated 20 crew members, all Thai nationals, who suffered injuries of varying severity.
Three crew members were reported missing, according to Thai authorities.
