Trump Says 'We Won' But Fight Will Go On, As Iran Targets Gulf Shipping

US ⁠President Donald ‌Trump claimed the United States has "won" the war against Iran ‌but says its forces will continue to attack until the job is finished, while Tehran has hit at least six vessels in the region and vowed further strikes.

"You never like ‌to say too early you won. We won," Trump said during a campaign-style rally in Kentucky on March 11.

"In the first hour it ‌was over," he said.

Comments from Trump and the White House over recent days have varied, from speculating that the war could last four to six weeks or longer to the possibility that it could be over "soon."

Trump has said the US-Israeli attack on Iran, begun on February 28, had "virtually destroyed" the Middle East nation, wiping out much of its leadership, armed forces, and nuclear program.

SEE ALSO: Commercial Ships Targeted As Iran Threatens Key Gulf Energy Transit Point

Still, the president and others in his administration have indicated that there will be no letup in attacks.

"We don't want to leave early, do we?" Trump said. "We ‌got to finish the job."

Israel has also made clear it is not ready to end its campaign, including attacks in Lebanon on Iran-allied Hezbollah forces, saying a "a broad bank of targets" remains.

"We will expand our operations," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told a televised briefing on March 11.

In the early morning hours of March 12, the Israeli military announced a "wide-scale wave of strikes on Tehran -- an almost nightly event in recent days.

Iranian Navy Ships Struck

Trump said US forces had struck Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz amid fears of a sea-mining campaign by Tehran in one of the most economically important waterways in the world.

"We hit 28 mine ships as of this moment," Trump told reporters, a day after the US military said 16 mine-laying vessels had been destroyed.

Reuters and CNN, citing US sources, said Iran has deployed ⁠about a dozen ⁠mines in ‌the strait. Reuters quoted a source as saying the mines were deployed "in the last few days" and that most of their locations were known.

Oman Says Drones Hit Fuel Tanks, Igniting Fires

In the face of fears of an energy crisis with the disruption in oil production and shipping in the Gulf region, the Western leaders have moved to keep prices from soaring.

On March 11, Trump said the United States would tap its strategic oil reserves "a little bit" to help ease price pressures.

"Right now, we'll reduce it a little bit and that brings the prices down," he said in a TV interview. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world's largest emergency supply of oil products, established in 1975 to be accessed during times of energy disruptions.

The US Energy Department later said the release of 172 million barrels was part of a wider release of crude by 32 countries belonging to the International Energy Agency. The IEA earlier said members unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves into the market.

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The Group of Seven (G7) industrial nations released a statement saying its members have agreed to explore the possibility of escorting ships through the Gulf region, including the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The G7 consists of the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany, ⁠and France.

Unknown Projectiles

The remarks came after at least six vessels in the strait were damaged in incidents across the Persian Gulf's key maritime artery, where about a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies travel.

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Commercial ships sailing under the flags of Thailand, Japan, and the Marshall Islands were targeted by unknown projectiles across the Strait of Hormuz, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a shipping security monitor, said on March 11. No injuries were reported.

However, three crewmen from the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree -- which had departed the UAE and was bound for India -- remain unaccounted for as of early March 12 and are believed to be trapped in the engine room of the burning ship, Thai naval officials said.

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had struck a Liberian-flagged vessel in the strait that it claimed was owned by Israel.

In Iraqi waters, Iranian explosive-laden boats appear ⁠to have attacked two fuel tankers, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, maritime and port officials said.

A Japan-flagged ⁠container ship, ONE Majesty, sustained minor damage on from an unknown projectile 46 kilometers northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said.

Tehran has indicated it considers the ships transferring oil to the United States, Israel, and "their partners" as "legitimate" targets.

"We won't allow even one liter of ‌oil to reach the US, Zionists, and their partners. Any vessel or tanker bound to them will be a legitimate ‌target," said Iran's military command spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari on March 11.

Fate Of New Supreme Leader

Meanwhile, Iranian officials went on the offensive on March 11 to knock down rumors over newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's state of health, saying he was injured in the air strikes that killed his father and other family members but is "safe and sound."

SEE ALSO: Iranian Officials Seek To Quell Rumors About Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's Health

Mojtaba Khamenei was announced as the country's new supreme leader on March 8 following the death of his father in a bombing raid on February 28.

The 56-year-old has not been seen since the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, nor has he made any public statements, giving rise to speculation he too may have died or been seriously injured in the attacks.

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The UN Security Council on March 11 condemned Tehran's attacks on Gulf states and other countries in the region, with Russia and China abstaining in the vote.

The resolution demands "the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP