Trump continues contradictory messaging on Iran; US will release 172m barrels of oil from strategic supplies. Key US politics stories from 11 March
Donald Trump has continued his contradictory messaging over the Iran war, telling a rally in Kentucky that the war is “won” but “we don’t want to leave early, do we?”.
With Trump and his fellow Republicans under pressure, according to polls, due to a stuttering economy, immigration crackdowns and the Iran conflict, the president noted this year’s midterm elections “are going to be very, very important”.
His comments came as US energy secretary Chris Wright said the US will release 172m barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve in a bid to reduce oil prices that have soared due to supply shocks from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Wright said the release is part of a broader release of 400m barrels of oil agreed to by the 32-country International Energy Agency earlier in the day. He said the release will begin next week and will take approximately 120 days to deliver.
