US/Israel-Iran War (Day 11): Trump says war would end soon but Iran rules out ceasefire talks

The war between the United States and Israel against Iran entered its eleventh day today (Tuesday).

Strikes are intensifying and casualties are rising, with the majority of them in Iran. More than 1,300 people have been confirmed dead as a result of continuous strikes.

PREMIUM TIMES brings you major updates on the war on its tenth day.

Trump says war will end soon

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the war with Iran will be over “very soon,” but made it clear it won’t be this week.

His statement comes 10 days into the war that has led to the death of over 1,300 people, injured many more, and thrown the Middle East region into chaos.

Mr Trump, speaking to the media in Florida, described the war as a “short-term excursion” undertaken to clear out “evil, “according to Al Jazeera.

“We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion,” he said.

Mr Trump said that the US and Israel had struck 5,000 targets since the war began on February 28, when Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.

“How good is our military, right? Amazing. How good? Short term. Short term,” he stated.

Iran rules out a ceasefire

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), in response to Mr Trump, said Iranians, not the Americans, would “determine the end of the war.”

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei declared that there was no room to discuss a ceasefire while military attacks by the US and Israel continue.

“We are on the eleventh day of military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime. We did not start this war,” he said at a news conference.

“Military aggression is ongoing, and therefore in this situation there is little place to talk about anything other than defence and a crushing response to the enemy,” he added.

Major injury to Smoltrich’s son in Lebanon

The son of the Israeli Finance Minister, Betzalel Smotrich, was injured by a Hezbollah rocket attack on Monday.

His son was among the eight soldiers of the Israel Defence Forces injured by Hezbollah rockets in Northern Israel.

Five are listed in serious condition, and three, including the young Smotrich, were lightly hurt, according to Times of Israel.

Higher death toll in Iran, Israel, the US, Lebanon,…

As fighting continues, the death toll in the region is escalating.

In Iran, over 1,300 people have been killed, with over 12,000 others injured, according to the Iranian Ministry of Health.

Iran reported that the victims’ ages ranged from eight months to 88 years old. It noted that about 200 women are among those killed, including the 168 Minab elementary school girls.

Similarly, about 55 healthcare workers were wounded and 11 killed, including four physicians, two nurses, and three emergency workers.

Israel’s health ministry also reported that at least 13 Israelis have been killed and 1,929 others wounded in Iranian strikes since the war began.

The health ministry said in a statement that 157 people were injured in Iranian strikes over the last 24 hours.

An eighth US soldier was confirmed dead on Monday, a day after Mr Trump attended a ceremony honouring troops killed in the conflict.

The Lebanese Health Ministry also said at least 394 people, including 83 children, had been killed in Israeli attacks.

Lebanon says more than half a million people have been displaced during a week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Fuel price increases in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, the US, and others

The war has triggered a sharp rise in global oil prices, leading to fuel price increases in several countries, including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, and the US.

With the Strait of Hormuz, a key route through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, closed, the war has caused crude prices to surge.

PREMIUM TIMES reported Brent crude jumped to about $109 per barrel, for the first time in more than five years.

It also reported that in Nigeria, filling stations and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised petrol prices in reaction to the spike in global oil prices.

Petrol that sold for about ₦870 per litre before the war climbed to roughly ₦1,100 per litre across the country.

Although Nigeria exports crude oil, the country still relies heavily on imported refined petroleum products, making domestic fuel prices vulnerable to fluctuations in the international market.

Price increases have also been reported in other countries, including Bangladesh, South Korea, Egypt and the US.

Australian asylum for Iranian women footballers

The Australian government has issued humanitarian visas to five members of the Iranian women’s football team.

Following their elimination in the Asian Cup, the five women were due to return to Iran, but supporters raised concern about their safety, according to the BBC.

After announcing that they had been granted humanitarian visas, the Immigration Minister, Tony Burke, also said the women have moved to “a safe location” by Australian police.

Mr Burke also stated that “it was made clear that there were five women who wanted to be able to stay in Australia”.

South Korea confirms US is redeploying weapons from its country to the war front

South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, on Tuesday confirmed that Washington is redeploying some weapons stationed in the country to the Middle East.

Reuters reports that the president also declared that it cannot stop the US from redeploying weapons.

South Korea hosts a significant US military presence. Around 28,500 United States troops are stationed in South Korea as part of a combined defence posture against nuclear-armed North Korea, supported by air defence systems including Patriot interceptors.

But Mr Lee stated the removal of some US weapons would not impact its deterrence strategy towards North Korea.

He insisted that South Korea’s defence spending and capabilities far exceeded those of North Korea.

“It appears that there is controversy recently over U.S. Forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defence weapons, out of the country,” Mr Lee said.

He, however, noted that while his country has expressed dissatisfaction with this move, it was not in a position to make demands.

Israel kills Catholic priest in Lebanon

A catholic priest in southern Lebanon was killed by Israeli strikes on Monday.

The Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest, Pierre Al-Rahi, was killed in an attack on a house in the border village of Qlayaa.

He had earlier refused, together with other priests, to obey an Israeli military order to evacuate the Christian village of Qlayaa.

Mr Al-Rahi was killed from wounds sustained in the attack.

Responding to this, Pope Leo XIV expressed his “profound sorrow for all the victims of the bombings in the Middle East these past few days, for the many innocent people, including numerous children, and for those who were helping them, such as Father Pierre El-Rahi, a Maronite priest killed this afternoon in Qlayaa.”