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Trump's peace deadline
Tanker hit off Qatar, blazes in Bahrain, Kuwait
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The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US and other allies open the Strait of Hormuz by force, Arab officials said, as per a Wall Street Journal report. This move would make it the first Persian Gulf country to become a combatant after being hit by Iranian attacks.The UAE is lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorise such action, the officials told WSJ. “Emirati diplomats have urged the US and military powers in Europe and Asia to form a coalition to open the strait by force, a U.A.E official said, adding that the Iranian regime thinks it is fighting for its existence and is willing to bring the global economy down with it in a chokehold on the strait.”The UAE official said the country was actively reviewing how it could play a military role in securing the strait, including efforts to help clear it of mines and other support services.The Gulf state has also said the US should occupy islands in the strategic waterway, including Abu Musa , which has been held by Iran for a half-century and is claimed by the UAE, some of the Arab officials said.U.S. President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier today said the end of the war on Iran could be near, with Washington signalling potential for both direct talks with Tehran's leadership and a winding down of the conflict even without a deal.The remarks underscored the shifting and at times contradictory timelines and statements from Washington about how and when the war, now in its fifth week, might end."We'll be leaving very soon," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, saying the exit could take place "within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three."Asked if successful diplomacy was a prerequisite for the U.S. to end what it calls "Operation Epic Fury", Trump said it was not."Iran doesn't have to make a deal, no," he said. "No, they don't have to make a deal with me."Washington had previously threatened to intensify operations if Tehran did not accept a 15-point U.S. ceasefire framework that had among its core demands that Iran commit not to pursue nuclear weapons, halt all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.The White House said Trump would address the nation "to provide an important update on Iran" at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday).Rubio told Fox News Channel's "Hannity" program there was potential for a meeting between both sides "at some point" and the United States could "see the finish line"."It's not today, it's not tomorrow, but it is coming," Rubio added.Still, attacks were reported on both sides early on Wednesday, with drones hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait's international airport causing a big blaze and authorities in Bahrain reporting a fire at an undisclosed company facility from an Iranian attack.A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile near the Qatari capital Doha causing damage to the hull at the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding the crew were safe.Explosions were heard in multiple areas of Tehran early Wednesday after U.S.-Israeli air attacks, Iranian state media reported, adding that its air defences were activated.Shahid Haghani Port, Iran's largest passenger terminal located in Bandar Abbas port on the Gulf, was hit by an overnight air strike but there were no casualties, the deputy governor Ahmad Nafisi told state media, calling it a "criminal" attack against civilian infrastructure.Gulf countries, some home to U.S. bases, have been repeatedly fired on by Tehran during the U.S.-Israeli war, with concerns mounting about Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ability to use the vital waterway, a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as a bargaining chip.Oil markets were subdued as trading resumed in Asia on Wednesday but stocks and bonds rallied at the start of the session on hopes of a de-escalation. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 2.7% after a four-day losing streak as the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.9% at one point after Trump's latest remarks.