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US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the end of the war on Iran could be near, with Washington signalling potential for both direct talks with Tehran’s leadership and a winding down of the conflict even without a deal.
The remarks underscored the shifting and at times contradictory timelines and statements from Washington about how and when the war, now in its fifth week, might end.
Attacks were reported on both sides early on Wednesday, with drones hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport, causing a big blaze and authorities in Bahrain reporting a fire at an undisclosed company facility from an Iranian attack.
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile near the Qatari capital Doha, causing damage to the hull at the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding the crew were safe.
Explosions were heard in multiple areas of Tehran early Wednesday after US-Israeli air attacks, Iranian state media reported, adding that its air defences were activated.
Shahid Haghani Port, Iran’s largest passenger terminal located in Bandar Abbas port on the Gulf, was hit by an overnight air strike, but there were no casualties, the deputy governor Ahmad Nafisi told state media, calling it a “criminal” attack against civilian infrastructure.
Gulf countries, some home to US bases, have been repeatedly fired on by Tehran during the US-Israeli war, with concerns mounting about Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ability to use the vital waterway, a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as a bargaining chip.
Oil markets were subdued as trading resumed in Asia on Wednesday, but stocks and bonds rallied at the start of the session on hopes of a de-escalation.
The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 2.7% after a four-day losing streak as the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.9% at one point after Trump’s latest remarks.
Stocks on Wall Street soared on Tuesday as traders bet on the potential off-ramp, sending the S&P 500 2.9% higher.
Higher oil and fuel prices have started to weigh on US household finances and are a political headache for Trump and his Republican Party before the November midterm elections.
Two-thirds of Americans believe the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
While the United States has said talks with Iran were ongoing, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that he has been receiving direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but those do not constitute “negotiations”, Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV cited him as saying.
The messages include threats or exchanged views delivered through “friends,” he added.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it had carried out more than 800 strike sorties against Iranian targets during the war involving 16,000 munitions and 5,000 new targets identified.
The Israeli military also said it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel, adding that air defence systems were operating to intercept the threat.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis joined the regional war in recent days, launching missiles at Israel in support of Tehran.
The war has also revived conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
At least seven people were killed and 24 wounded in two Israeli strikes in the Beirut area, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday it carried out two separate strikes targeting a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior member of the Iran-aligned group in the Beirut area.
It did not identify them or say whether they had been killed.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the strikes.
