US President Donald Trump has claimed that the United States has "won" the war against Iran, but that US military forces will continue their attacks until the job is done.
Meanwhile, Tehran continues to strike ships in the region and vows further attacks.
"It's never a good idea to say too early that we won. We won. Right in the early hours," Trump said at a rally in Kentucky on March 11.
Comments from Trump and the White House have varied in recent days – from speculation that the war would last four to six weeks, to the possibility that it could end "soon."
Trump has said that the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which began on February 28, have "virtually destroyed" the Middle Eastern country, killing a significant portion of its leadership, and damaging its armed forces and nuclear program.
However, the president and others in his administration have signaled that they will not let up when it comes to attacks.
"We don't want to leave early, do we? We have to get the job done," Trump said.
Israel has made it clear that it is not ready to end its military campaign, including attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah forces - allies of Iran - saying that "a multitude of targets" continue to exist.
Hezbollah is a terrorist organization designated by the United States and other powers.
"We will expand our operation," Israeli military spokeswoman Effie Defrin said on March 11.
In the early hours of March 12, the Israeli military announced "an expanded wave of attacks in Tehran - almost daily reports in recent days."
Attacks on the Iranian Navy
Trump said US forces had struck Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz as concerns grew that Tehran could be considering a campaign of underwater mines in one of the world's most important sea lanes.
"We've hit 28 minelayers so far," Trump told reporters, a day after the US military announced it had destroyed 16 of them.
Reuters and CNN, citing US sources, have said that Iran has placed dozens of mines in the Strait. Reuters quoted a source as saying that the mines were placed “in recent days” and that most of the locations are known.
As the world risks facing an energy crisis due to shipping problems in the Gulf region, Western leaders have begun to take decisions to prevent a sharp increase in prices.
On March 11, Trump said the United States would release a portion of its strategic oil reserves to de-escalate the situation.
The US Department of Energy later announced that it would release 172 million barrels of oil, in coordination with 32 other countries belonging to the International Energy Agency.
This agency said that member countries have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves.
The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations has issued a statement saying that member countries have agreed to consider the possibility of escorting ships passing through the Gulf region, including the Strait of Hormuz.
The G7 consists of the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France.
The fate of the new supreme leader
Meanwhile, Iranian officials are waging an intensive campaign to dismiss rumors about the health of the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, saying he was injured in the airstrikes that killed his father and other family members, but that he himself is "in good condition."
Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed the new supreme leader of the state on March 8, following the assassination of his father in the bombings launched on February 28.
The 56-year-old has not been seen in public since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, nor has he made any public statements, increasing speculation that he too may be dead or seriously injured.
The United Nations Security Council on March 11 condemned Tehran's attacks on Gulf states and other countries in the region. Russia and China abstained when the vote began.
The resolution demands "an immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan."
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