Donald Trump Says U.S. Is Nearing End of War With Iran as Saudi Arabia-Houthis Fight

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was "hopefully" toward the end of the country’s nearly seven-month war with Iran, adding, "They want to make a deal, we'll see how that works out," as fighting escalated between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“"hopefully" toward the end of its nearly seven-month war with Iran”

CNBC

Trump said he had spoken with Tehran "directly," and he is planning to meet Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next Tuesday to discuss next steps for the war with Iran.

BBC

The CNBC account tied the diplomatic push to disruption of energy exports and oil-market jitters, noting that Saudi Arabia shut its East-West Pipeline after damage caused by a drone attack.

It also cited market moves, with Brent crude futures with November expiry falling 1.5% to $104.28 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with October expiry dipping 1.1% to $101.30.

The report further quoted Geopolitical Strategy chief strategist Michael Feller saying, "Iran may be willing to do a deal after the midterms," but warning that if it does not, "the war may continue until late 2028, if not beyond."

A United Nations fact-finding mission said it has "reasonable grounds" to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes on a primary school and a sports center in Iran at the outset of the February 28 offensive.

The mission said American forces fired Tomahawk missiles at Minab’s Shajaré Taybé primary school, and it said the attack killed more than 150 people, including 120 children, while striking a school "adjacent to a naval complex of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard," about 70 meters away.

Cadena SER

For the Lamerd sports center bombing, the mission said a missile attack "dispersed about 180,000 tungsten pellets over a wide area," and it described the building as "visibly separated" from another Revolutionary Guard complex.

Reuters reported the mission concluded the Minab strike was indiscriminate and that the U.S. failure to update information and verify the building was a military objective went beyond mere negligence, adding, "Moreover, the United States directed strikes at the school building while well aware of a substantial risk".

The AP account said the report is not binding but could be used in efforts to reach justice in international courts, and it described the mission as chaired by jurist Sara Hossain of Bangladesh.

Beyond the strikes, the UN mission said it found "reasonable grounds" to believe Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during a crackdown on anti-government protests that began in late December.

“the mission also concluded that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity”

Reuters

Reuters reported the mission said it could not independently verify the number of casualties, but it believes the number of dead and injured could be much higher than official figures of 3,038 killed and 25,000 injured.

The mission described the Iranian government’s response as including violence, killings, internet cuts, and the use of the death penalty, and it said the response marked a significant escalation compared with earlier patterns of suppressing dissent.

In the U.S. political arena, Trump again insisted on a deal-oriented end to the conflict, while the UN findings continued to frame the U.S. role in February strikes as involving indiscriminate attacks.

The AP report said the experts concluded that "the building of the school was the intended point of impact" and that the resulting damage wasn’t the result of an errant strike or collateral damage from an attack on a Revolutionary Guard compound next to the school.