We will defend our country as far as necessary and by any means required
In the space between two very different clocks, a conflict is being measured. President Trump declared from the Oval Office that American forces would leave Iran within weeks, the hard work done; Iran's foreign minister answered from Tehran that his country was prepared to fight for at least six months. The Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world's oil flows — hangs in the balance between those two timelines, and the world's economies are already adjusting to the uncertainty of not knowing which man's calendar will prove true.
- Trump declared the US military would exit Iran in two to three weeks, framing the conflict as essentially over — while Iran's foreign minister publicly prepared his nation for six months or more of war.
- The gap between those two timelines is not merely rhetorical: Houthi missiles are flying from Yemen, Israeli strikes are hitting Tehran and Beirut, and a drone attack set Kuwait's airport fuel tanks ablaze.
- Trump announced the US would surrender responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz, telling European allies — including Britain — that they would have to learn to defend their own oil interests without American help.
- Gas prices in the United States surpassed four dollars a gallon for the first time since 2022, and Brent crude was climbing toward its highest point since the conflict began, as markets priced in the possibility that Iran's timeline, not Trump's, might be the one that holds.
- Iran's foreign minister denied any direct negotiations with Washington, calling indirect messages through intermediaries something far short of diplomacy, and warned the Americans to end the war fully — or face further damage.
President Trump stood in the Oval Office on Tuesday and announced that American forces would leave Iran within two to three weeks. The job, he said, was finished. Iran had been essentially decimated, and other nations would now have to secure their own interests — including in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes each day. In a post on Truth Social, he told Britain to build up some delayed courage and take the strait themselves.
In Tehran, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was drawing a different map of time entirely. Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said Iran was prepared for at least six months of war and would defend itself by any means necessary. He also denied that direct negotiations with the United States were taking place, describing the indirect messages passed through intermediaries as something far short of diplomacy. His recommendation to Washington: bring this war to a complete and permanent end before facing further damage.
The fighting was already spreading. Israel struck a facility in Tehran it described as a pharmaceutical factory supplying fentanyl for chemical weapons; Iran insisted the Tofigh Daru plant produced only hospital drugs. In Beirut, an Israeli strike on the Jnah neighborhood killed at least five people and wounded twenty-one more. A Houthi missile fired from Yemen was intercepted over Israel with no reported casualties. In Kuwait, a drone attack set the international airport's fuel tanks ablaze.
The economic consequences were arriving just as quickly. American gas prices climbed past four dollars a gallon for the first time since 2022, and Brent crude was approaching its highest level since the conflict began. Trump promised prices would fall once US forces departed, but the markets were moving on their own logic — one shaped less by his two-week timeline than by the prospect of six months of Iranian resistance. Two men were counting time in very different units, and the world was watching to see whose calendar would hold.
President Trump stood in the Oval Office on Tuesday and announced a swift end to the American military presence in Iran. Two to three weeks, he said. Maybe a couple of days longer. The job would be finished. He spoke with the confidence of a man who had already decided the outcome, telling reporters that the hard part was done, that Iran had been essentially decimated, and that other countries could now fend for themselves.
But in Tehran, Iran's foreign minister was drawing a different map of time. Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that his country was prepared for at least six months of war. We do not set deadlines for defending ourselves, he said. We will defend our country and our people as far as necessary and by any means required. The two men were not speaking the same language about what comes next.
Trump also made clear that America's responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz—the narrow waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil passes on any given day—was ending. If France wanted oil, France could go get it. If the UK wanted to protect its interests, the UK would have to learn to fight for itself. The United States, he said, would have nothing to do with what happens in that waterway. He posted on Truth Social that Britain should build up some delayed courage and take the strait themselves. You'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, he wrote. The U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore.
The conflict was already reshaping the world's economy. Gas prices in America had jumped past four dollars a gallon for the first time since 2022. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was approaching its highest level since the war began. Trump promised prices would drop quickly once the US left Iran, but the market was moving on its own logic now, responding to the uncertainty of what six months of Iranian resistance might actually look like.
Meanwhile, the fighting was intensifying across the region. Israel's military intercepted a missile from Yemen early Wednesday morning—the Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, had entered the conflict over the weekend and were vowing to continue. There were no reported injuries. On the same morning, Israel struck what it said was a pharmaceutical factory in Tehran that supplied fentanyl for chemical weapons. Iran acknowledged the strike on the Tofigh Daru facility but insisted it only produced hospital drugs. Israel and the United States had warned for years that Iran was experimenting with fentanyl in munitions. A small amount of the drug can be fatal.
In Beirut, an Israeli strike on the Jnah neighborhood killed at least five people and wounded twenty-one more. The strike came without warning. Israel did not declare its target, though it often says it is targeting operatives from Hezbollah. In Kuwait, a drone attack sparked a large fire at the international airport's fuel tank. Firefighters were working to control the blaze.
Araghchi denied that Iran and the United States were in direct negotiations, despite claims from the Trump administration. Negotiation is when two countries engage in talks to reach an agreement, he said, and such a thing does not exist between us and the United States. He had received messages from US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and there had been indirect communication through intermediaries, but nothing more. He added a warning: his recommendation was that the Americans bring this war to a complete and permanent end before facing further damage. An end to the war, he said, must include peace throughout the entire region.
Trump's timeline and Iran's timeline were now in open collision. One man was counting weeks. The other was counting months. The Strait of Hormuz remained mostly closed. Gas prices were climbing. And across the Middle East, the machinery of war was accelerating in ways that suggested the next six months would test which man's calendar was closer to reality.
Notable Quotes
We do not set any deadlines for defending ourselves. We will defend our country and our people as far as necessary and by any means required.— Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister
Within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer, to do the job. But we want to knock out every single thing they have.— President Trump
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Trump says the US will be finished in two or three weeks, what does he actually mean by finished?
He means the military operations will be complete—that the objectives he set have been achieved. He's saying the hard work is done, that Iran has been decimated. But he's also being vague about what finished looks like, which is part of the problem.
And Iran's foreign minister is saying six months. That's a very different number. Why would he say that?
Because he's signaling that Iran won't surrender on America's timeline. He's telling his own people and the world that they're prepared for a long fight, that they won't be rushed or pressured into accepting terms they don't want.
Trump is also saying the US won't protect the Strait of Hormuz anymore. That's a major shift, isn't it?
It's enormous. A fifth of the world's oil goes through that strait. By saying other countries have to protect it themselves, Trump is essentially saying America is stepping back from a role it's held for decades. It's a break with how the US has managed global oil security.
And the gas prices—they're already at four dollars a gallon. Is that because of what Trump said, or because of what's actually happening on the ground?
It's the ground. The market is reacting to the reality of the conflict, to the closure of the strait, to the uncertainty about how long this will actually last. Trump says prices will drop when the US leaves, but the market doesn't believe his timeline.
What strikes you most about what's happening right now?
The disconnect between the two men's sense of time. Trump is speaking as if he controls the outcome. Iran is speaking as if it has choices about how long to fight. One of them is going to be wrong, and the world is going to feel it.