Washington/Tehran, 21 March 2026 (dpa/MIA) - President Donald Trump on Friday said the US is considering "winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East."

"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He went on to name these as "degrading Iranian Missile Capability ... Destroying Iran's Defense Industrial Base ... Eliminating their Navy and Air Force ... Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability" and protecting the United States' Middle Eastern allies.

Trump also noted that "The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!"

"If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn't be necessary once Iran's threat is eradicated," Trump asserted.

"Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them," the US president claimed.

His remarks come as the US and its European allies are divided on how to deal with the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait, a major shipping route and the only path from The Gulf to the open sea, has been effectively blocked by Iran in retaliation for US and Israeli airstrikes. The blockade has triggered oil price surges.

On Sunday, Trump had suggested in comments to the Financial Times that NATO may have a "very bad" future if allies don't help ensure safe passage for commercial shipping through the strait.

European allies, however, quickly ruled out participation in a potential military operation to secure fuel shipments.

Iran vows to target 'enemies at home and abroad'

Earlier on Friday, Iran said it was targeting its "enemies at home and abroad" as the country celebrated a low-key Nowruz news year's festival, from which its newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was notably absent.

A statement posted on Mojtaba Khamenei's X account called on Iran's intelligence services to deprive "enemies at home and abroad" of their security.

The statement follows the the death of intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib, who was killed in a strike this week.

The X post says that the "remaining officials and staff of this sensitive ministry" must fill the gap left by the minister's death.

The new supreme leader has not appeared in public, or released audio or video messages, since his appointment on March 8, leading to speculation about his health.

According to the US government, the leader is injured. No further details are available.

He succeeded his father ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran on the first day of the US-Israeli attack on February 28.