‘We’ve knocked out everything’: Trump rejects Iran ceasefire (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the 70th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, saying more than 55 locations linked to US forces and Israel across the region were targeted in the latest phase, and releasing footage it said showed missile and drone strikes.

In a statement on Saturday, the force described the opening moments of the strikes as marked by “loud explosions, bursts of fire, and columns of smoke,” adding that attacks were carried out using Qiam and Emad missile systems alongside drones as part of what it called a strategy of “gradual attrition.”

According to the IRGC, five US military installations — including al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia, al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, Ali al-Salem in Kuwait, Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain — were among the targets, while Aerospace Force units also focused on strategic areas in Haifa and Tel Aviv. The Corps warned it would continue to strike the “origin of any aggression” against Iran’s sovereignty, saying its forces had prepared for a further stage of confrontation.

Footage aired by Press TV appears to show the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with visible damage to buildings and debris scattered across the area.

Kuwait’s military has said its air defense systems were responding to a missile and drone attack on Saturday morning, as Iran continues to strike Gulf nations.

Trump has claimed US forces have effectively defeated Iran militarily, rejecting calls for a ceasefire while speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday.

“Oh, I think we’ve won,” Trump said, adding that US strikes had “knocked out their Navy, their Air Force… their anti-aircraft. We’ve knocked out everything.”

He insisted Iran was no longer capable of mounting a meaningful military response. “We’re roaming free… From a military standpoint… they’re finished,” he said.

Trump also ruled out pausing the conflict during the same exchange with journalists. “Well, look, we can have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”

Trump has downplayed Iran’s remaining military role in the conflict, saying its actions now largely amount to disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“From a military standpoint, all they’re doing is clogging up the strait,” Trump said on Friday, arguing that securing the vital energy route would be a relatively straightforward task.

Describing efforts to reopen the waterway, he said it was “a simple military maneuver… but you need a lot of help. You need ships, you need volume,” while criticizing NATO allies for failing to support the operation.

He added that major energy-dependent nations should take responsibility for the route, suggesting that “at a certain point, it will open itself.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will temporarily allow the sale of Iranian crude already stranded at sea to ease supply pressures. Writing on X, he said the Treasury was issuing “a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization” that would “quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets… helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply.”

He stressed the measure is “strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production,” adding the US would continue to maintain “maximum pressure” on Iran while working to expand global energy supply and stabilize markets.

United Airlines is preparing for a prolonged period of elevated oil prices, with Chief Executive Scott Kirby telling staff he expects crude to stay above $100 a barrel until the end of 2027 and could spike as high as $175, according to a Reuters report.

Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled since late February, potentially increasing the carrier’s annual fuel bill by about $11 billion, prompting plans to cut less profitable flights and keep services to Tel Aviv and Dubai suspended.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organization is exploring ways to help restore safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting a framework similar to the Black Sea grain corridor. In an interview with Politico, he said his “main objective” was to see whether conditions could be created in the strategic waterway comparable to earlier efforts to keep global trade moving amid hostilities.

The Black Sea deal, agreed in 2022 between Russia and Ukraine with UN and Turkish mediation, created a monitored safe shipping corridor that enabled tens of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural cargo to leave ports during the conflict, although Moscow later withdrew from the arrangement, saying its own food and fertiliser exports continued to face obstacles. Guterres added that the UN is engaging Gulf states and European officials on possible de-escalation and maritime security measures.

Fuel prices climb above €2 per litre at a gas station in Siegen, Germany, on March 20, 2026, as energy markets remain under pressure. © Global Look Press / IMAGO / Rene Traut

A major fire reportedly broke out at the US Victory base in Baghdad following a drone attack.

Footage allegedly shows scenes of widespread destruction in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas following Israeli-American airstrikes.