Trump Mulls 'Winding Down' Iran War While Deploying 2,500 More Marines to Middle East

Trump stated the US is 'getting very close to meeting our objectives' and considering winding down military efforts, even as the Pentagon dispatched 2,500 Marines aboard the USS Boxer from San Diego and the USS Tripoli group with 2,000+ Marines approaches from Japan. The contradiction underscores the administration's messaging gap: operational tempo continues to escalate while political rhetoric signals de-escalation. Treasury Secretary Bessent simultaneously lifted sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian crude through April 19 to ease energy prices.