Conflict enters third week as Tehran rejects ceasefire and tensions threaten Strait of Hormuz shipping
Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
US President Donald Trump said Iran appeared willing to make a deal to end the war, but the terms were “not good enough yet,” while warning that Washington could carry out further strikes on the Iranian oil export hub of Kharg Island.
In a telephone interview with NBC News on Saturday, Trump said Tehran wanted negotiations but insisted any agreement would require Iran to abandon nuclear ambitions.
“Iran wanted to make a deal, but I’m unwilling to do so now because the terms are not good enough yet,” Trump said. He declined to specify the terms but said an Iranian commitment to abandon nuclear ambitions would be part of any potential agreement.
Trump also said several countries had committed to helping secure the Strait of Hormuz, though he refused to name them.
The president said US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, a critical hub for Iranian oil exports, and warned more attacks could follow.
“We may hit it a few more times just for fun,” Trump said, while dismissing concerns about rising oil prices. “There’s so much oil, gas – there’s so much out there, but you know, it’s being clogged up a little bit. It’ll be unclogged very soon.”
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Trump also raised questions about the fate of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of slain former leader Ali Khamenei.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said, noting that Khamenei’s first message was issued in writing rather than on camera.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” he added, before describing reports of his death as a “rumour”.
Earlier, Trump had threatened further strikes on Kharg Island and urged allies to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil and gas transit route.
Writing on social media, Trump said countries that rely on oil shipments through the strait should take responsibility for protecting the passage.
“The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!” he wrote. “The US will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well.”
The comments marked an escalation in rhetoric from Trump, who had previously said US forces targeted only military facilities on Kharg Island. They also appeared to undermine diplomatic efforts, with three sources telling Reuters that the Trump administration had already rejected attempts by Middle Eastern allies to start negotiations aimed at ending the war.
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As the conflict entered its third week, both sides appeared to be preparing for a prolonged fight.
Tehran rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until US and Israeli airstrikes stop, while Iranian forces continued strikes across the region.
A drone attack disrupted a major United Arab Emirates energy hub on Saturday, and Washington warned US citizens to leave Iraq after a missile attack on the US embassy in Baghdad overnight on Friday.
Since Israel and the United States began air attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, more than 2,000 people — mostly in Iran — have been killed, according to reports from governments and state media. At least 15 people were killed when an airstrike hit a refrigerator and heater factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
Iran warned civilians in the United Arab Emirates to evacuate ports, docks and what it called “American hideouts,” saying US forces had targeted Iran from those areas. The UAE denied that strikes on Kharg Island overnight Friday had been launched from its territory.
Calling any facility associated with the United States a “legitimate target,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urged US industries to leave the region.
Oil market disruptions also appeared set to continue. Some oil-loading operations were suspended in the emirate of Fujairah after a drone attack, according to industry sources.
The emirate’s media office said the drone was intercepted, but civil defence crews were still trying late Saturday to extinguish a fire caused by falling debris.
Meanwhile, Iran downplayed the extent of damage on Kharg Island. The US military’s US Central Command said it had struck more than 90 targets there, including naval mine storage facilities, missile bunkers and other military sites.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi dismissed speculation by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that Mojtaba Khamenei had been wounded.
“There is no problem with the new supreme leader. He sent his message yesterday, and he will perform his duties,” Araqchi said.
Iran’s defence ministry said nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones had been launched toward the UAE, while warning residents to leave areas near Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port and Fujairah port.
Fujairah, located outside the Strait of Hormuz, is a major outlet for about one million barrels per day of the UAE’s Murban crude oil, equivalent to about 1% of global demand.
