WASHINGTON- President Trump said Friday that the United States is considering “winding down” hostilities in the Middle East as the Pentagon is sending thousands of California-based Marines to the region and has requested billions in new funding for Iran's war.
“We are very close to meeting our objectives as we consider ending our extensive military efforts in the Middle East vis-à-vis the terrorist regime in Iran,” Trump wrote in Truth Social.
He listed a number of military objectives that he claimed were about to be achieved, including the destruction of Iran's military and nuclear capabilities. He said the Strait of Hormuz “will have to be watched and monitored,” but did not provide any timeline or information detailing the fate of service members recently sent into hostilities.
The Pentagon is sending three California-based warships and about 2,500 Marines to the Middle East, the second significant deployment in a week, the Associated Press and other outlets reported Friday.
The three warships, the San Diego-based USS Boxer and two warships of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, departed Camp Pendleton on Wednesday.
They were being deployed for “routine training,” according to official Pentagon statements, but defense officials told multiple media outlets that the final destination is the Middle East, where the U.S. military has amassed about 50,000 troops in total.
A 2,500-strong Marine unit accompanied by the warship USS Tripoli set sail from Japan on Saturday.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the deployments: “Due to operational security, we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement Friday.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, front, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine arrive for a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington on Thursday.
(Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
The biggest reinforcement comes as the economic ripples of the war are felt around the world, as Washington signaled a protracted conflict.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed at a news conference Thursday that the Pentagon has requested another $200 billion from the White House to finance the war, as the U.S. national debt reaches a record $39 trillion.
The supplemental spending will require congressional approval. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the request “unacceptable for a war without a plan.”
“No way,” he said. “That will never happen. It's an absurd and dangerous risk.”
The increased troop presence in the region raises questions about the prospect of a US deployment on Iranian soil. So far, Republican leaders in Congress have not committed to the idea of holding formal votes to authorize action.
Asked whether the administration should get congressional approval to send U.S. ground troops, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters this week that it would depend on the details of the mission they are asked to complete.
“If we are completing the mission and it is limited in scope, then that is not a declaration of war,” Johnson said.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), a member of the Air Force Reserves, called Johnson's response an example of “the emasculation of a branch of government in real time.”
As of Friday, 13 US service members have been killed and 232 wounded in the Middle East since the start of the conflict, according to US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkin.
Marines conduct a demonstration with helicopters and the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer Oct. 18, 2025 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
(Gregory Bull/Associated Press)
The increase in military spending and troop deployments comes as Trump struggles to win allies for his proposed international coalition, which aims to send warships to secure vital sea lanes and deter new attacks on energy infrastructure around the Persian Gulf.
Trump said Thursday that Iran “is close to being demolished” but that securing the Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz remained a struggle. He suggested that the United States was working to secure the strait not for its own oil needs, but “simply to be nice” to other countries that depend on the region's oil to a much greater degree than the United States.
“They complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but they do not want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the only reason for the high oil prices. It is so easy for them to do it, with so little risk. COWARDS, and WE WILL REMEMBER!” Trump wrote Friday in Truth Social.
On Friday, the United Kingdom agreed to allow US military forces to use British bases in operations “to degrade the sites and missile capabilities used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministers said in a written statement.
It came as Iran continued its large-scale attacks on Middle East energy facilities, in response to Wednesday's Israeli attacks on Iran's South Pars field, the world's largest natural gas field. The fallout has dragged Gulf states into war amid the largest energy disruption in history.
Iranian Shahed drones attacked Kuwait's largest oil refinery on Friday. Similar attacks sparked fires in the industrial city of Ras Laffan in Qatar, halting power production in the world's largest natural gas hub. Repairs are expected to take years.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates' air defense systems were countering Iranian missiles overnight, and Saudi Arabia said it could respond with force if Iran continues to attack facilities in the kingdom.
An Israeli self-propelled howitzer artillery gun fires into southern Lebanon from a position in the upper Galilee, northern Israel, near the border, on Friday.
(Jalaa Marey / AFP via Getty Images)
Israel said on Friday it had killed Esmail Ahmadi, a senior intelligence official in Iran's Basij and deputy to its commander, in an airstrike. Officials described Ahmadi as “one of the most important pillars” of the Basij volunteer paramilitary force.
Even as Israel carries out daily decapitation airstrikes on Tehran and the United States deploys renewed forces at its front door, the Islamic Republic has not wavered.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesman for Iran's military, said American and Israeli officials could be attacked around the world.
“From now on, according to the information we have, even tourist and recreational places around the world will not be safe for you,” Shekarchi said.
Oil prices have surpassed $100 a barrel amid the chaos.
Financial markets have reacted with sustained losses. Wall Street has posted its fourth straight week of declines, with investors increasingly pricing in the risk that higher energy costs could slow economic growth while reigniting inflation. Analysts warn that persistently high crude oil prices are likely to squeeze corporate margins and hit consumer spending in the United States and beyond.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that the conflict could also boost inflation. The Federal Reserve now faces renewed uncertainty as it weighs whether to keep interest rates higher for longer in response to rising energy costs.
At an event at the White House on Friday, Trump maintained that the US military operation “is going extremely well in Iran.”
“The difference between them and us is that they had a navy two weeks ago and they don't have it anymore. Everything is at the bottom of the sea,” Trump said. “Fifty-eight ships were shot down in two days and we have the best navy in the world. It's not even close.”
The president did not answer the questions of the journalists present in the room. But in off-the-cuff remarks, he said the United States and Iran are not engaging in talks because their leaders are “gone,” adding to uncertainty about the war exit strategy.
“We are going through a difficult time, we want to talk to them and there is no one to talk to,” he said. “We don't have anyone to talk to and you know what? We like it that way.”
