US - Pakistan relationship

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Trump says war with Iran will end 'when I feel it, okay?'​

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Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has been speaking to Fox News, in an interview that aired on Friday.

Here are the key lines:

On when the war with Iran might end: When asked when he will know the war is over, Trump replies: "When I feel it, okay? I feel it in my bones"

On Iran's new supreme leader: "I think he's damaged, but I think he's probably alive in some form," Trump says of Mojtaba Khamenei, who is yet to be seen in public

On the Strait of Hormuz: The US would escort oil tankers through the Strait "if we need to", but "hopefully things are going to go very well. We'll see what happens", Trump says

On damaging Iran: He says over the next week "we're going to be hitting them very hard". He adds: "We've already damaged them so badly it would take years for them to ever rebuild"

On Gulf allies: Trump says the "unity is tremendous", and he has spoken to most of them today. They're "doing a very good job in protecting themselves", he adds

 

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'A serious bailout': Experts speak to BBC on easing of US sanctions on Russia oil​

Archie Mitchell
Business reporter

Image source, Reuters

A file photo of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting in Alaska, August 2025
With world leaders - including Zelensky and Macron - warning that the US's easing of sanctions on Russian oil "does not help peace", the BBC has been speaking to experts warning that Russia stands to make huge financial gains.

For Russia

The move is "a serious bailout" for Putin's regime, says Benjamin Hilgenstock, head of macroeconomic research and strategy at the Kyiv School of Economics.

He estimates that Russian oil exports could be boosted by around $10bn (£7.5bn), with half of this being paid in tax straight into the government's coffers.

If the crisis in Iran continues for longer than a month or two, it could put Russia's economy "back in quite a comfortable situation", says Hilgenstock.

For the wider world

On a global scale, the move will "only scratch the surface" of the supply disruption in the Persian Gulf, says Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at Dutch bank ING.

"There is only one solution for the oil market and that is getting oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz," he says.

Patterson says that India and other Asian countries - that have been most affected by the Strait's closure - are most likely to buy up the newly-available Russian oil.

 

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For the same matter, Trump commented on it and would soon change his stance.

We carefully analyzed the changes in Trump and the US stock market and reached a conclusion: Trump is controlling the US stock market and making a large amount of money from the government and the stock market.

Buffett is insignificant in front of Trump; the god of the US stock market is Trump.

Here is some information.

On April 9, 2025, before Trump announced a 90-day suspension of tariffs, he posted on social media urging people to buy shares in Trump Media & Technology Group. On that day, online videos showed Trump boasting that his wealthy friends earned $2.5 billion in one day through the stock market.

On October 21, 2025, Trump sued the Trump administration, demanding $230 million in compensation.

On March 11, 2026, US President Trump's two sons invested in a new drone company, which was striving to meet new demands from the Pentagon, targeting the US Department of War's $1.1 billion procurement plan.

After the US and Israel invaded Iran, Trump and the stock market and futures changes became even more frequent.

 

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US allies rebuff Trump's request for support in Strait of Hormuz​

Trump urged nations to police Hormuz after Iran used drones, missiles and mines to block the strait

Reuters
March 16, 2026

The Thailand-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree in the Strait of Hormuz, March 11, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS via ROYAL THAI NAVY/Handout

Allies of the United States said they had no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing a request by President Donald Trump for military support to keep the vital waterway open.

Trump called on nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to US-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to effectively close the strategic channel off its shores for tankers transporting a fifth of global oil supply.

Most NATO countries, several of whom have been at the sharp end of criticism from Trump in recent months, are usually wary of angering the White House but are now signalling reluctance to become embroiled in the conflict with Tehran.

“What does (...) Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US navy cannot do?” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin on Monday, as he downplayed threats by Trump that failing to come to Washington’s aid could have consequences for the NATO alliance.

“This is not our war, we have not started it,” he added.

 

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The conflict has nothing to do with NATO and Germany has no plans to be drawn into it, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said.

“Neither the United States nor Israel consulted us before the war, and ... Washington explicitly stated at the outset of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired,” the spokesperson said.

Still, some allies signalled a cautious willingness to help.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was in talks with the United Nations about replicating a deal that allows grain to be exported out of Ukraine during its war with Russia.

 

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FM Dar stresses need to promote peace, stability in region in meeting with US envoy​

The two sides discuss the broader regional situation and issues of mutual interest

Web Desk
March 16, 2026

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar meets Acting US Chargé d’Affaires Zachary Harkenrider. Photo: MOFA

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday stressed the need to promote peace and stability in the region during a meeting with United States Acting Chargé d’Affaires Zachary Harkenrider as the conflict in the Middle East drags on.

Since the start of the war between the US, Israel, and Iran, Pakistan’s leadership has stepped up diplomatic efforts to help de-escalate tensions. Last week, Dar held telephonic conversations with his counterparts from several Gulf states and other countries, stressing the importance of de-escalation and emphasising the need to pursue dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.

 

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Trump says over 7,000 targets hit as Iran warns of taking aim at US industries in region​

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they would target US-linked industries, urging evacuations

Web Desk/REUTERS/AFP
March 16, 2026

US President Donald Trump speaks during a lunch with the Kennedy Center Board Members in the East Room of the White House on March 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. PHOTO: AFP

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that over 7,000 Iranian targets were hit as the conflict between the two countries drags on.

Trump was briefing reporters on the latest on Iran ahead of a lunch meeting with board members of the Trump Kennedy Centre. He said the US military operations in Iran had continued "in full force" over the past few days, adding that the US had stuck more than 7,000 targets across Iran.

"They have been literally obliterated," the US president said.

 

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Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they would target US industries in the region in the coming hours, asking people to evacuate nearby areas, Tasnim news agency reported.

"We warn the failed American regime to evacuate all American industries in the region, and we call on the people of the areas surrounding the industrial plants in which the Americans are shareholders to evacuate those areas so that no harm comes to them. These industries will be attacked and hit in the coming hours," the Guards said in a statement carried by the state media.

Saudi Arabia dismisses media report about prolonged war

A Saudi Arabian source on Monday dismissed an alleged report by The New York Times about the kingdom's leadership encouraging the United States for a drawn out prolonged war with Iran, Al Arabiya reported.

NYT claimed in a report a day ago that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was advising US President Donald Trump “to keep hitting the Iranians hard".

However, Al Arabiya reported that a "Saudi source" told the outlet today on Monday that the NYT report was "false".

 

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Japan, Australia reject Trump demand to send warships to secure Hormuz

US President Donald Trump's demands for a coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz appeared to fall on deaf ears on Monday as allies Japan and Australia said they were not planning to send navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the vital waterway.

With the US-Israeli war ‌on Iran creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump on Sunday insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait through which 20% of the world's energy transits.

Markets in Asia reacted cautiously, with Brent crude rising more than 1% above $104.50 and regional share markets mostly weaker amid concerns about the risk to Middle East oil facilities and after Trump's request for allies to get more involved.

"I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to Washington. "It’s the place from which they get their energy."

 

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Japan, Australia reject Trump demand to send warships to secure Hormuz

US President Donald Trump's demands for a coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz appeared to fall on deaf ears on Monday as allies Japan and Australia said they were not planning to send navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the vital waterway.

With the US-Israeli war ‌on Iran creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump on Sunday insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait through which 20% of the world's energy transits.

Markets in Asia reacted cautiously, with Brent crude rising more than 1% above $104.50 and regional share markets mostly weaker amid concerns about the risk to Middle East oil facilities and after Trump's request for allies to get more involved.

"I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to Washington. "It’s the place from which they get their energy."

Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but did not identify the countries. In a weekend social media post, he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a staunch Trump supporter, said on Monday her country, constrained by its war-renouncing constitution, has no plan to dispatch ⁠naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East from where it gets 95% of its oil.