US has hundreds of special operations forces in Middle East - CBS News

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that increasing oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could help reduce pressure on global oil prices.

Speaking on "Fox & Friends," Bessent said the United States is helping offset a global supply deficit of 10 to 12 million barrels per day. He cited recent moves, including a coordinated release of 400 million barrels from strategic reserves and temporary sanctions relief on Iranian and Russian oil, as measures easing supply concerns.

Bessent added that the US may eventually assume control of the strait to ensure freedom of navigation.

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Monday argues that the United States may already have achieved significant objectives in its ongoing conflict with Iran, even as uncertainty remains about the broader outcome.

The author says strict limitations in public knowledge make it hard to assess true progress in the war and cautions against overconfidence in claims of success.

"In the same way, to declare now that it is already won or lost is merely to affirm one’s prior and continuing political and ideological prejudices, delivered to an audience that wants to hear nothing else," the piece said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the war on Iran has achieved more than half of its objectives, while declining to set a timeline for its end.

In an interview with Newsmax, Netanyahu said the campaign was “beyond the halfway point” in terms of missions, not time.

He added that there are military options being led by the United States regarding the Strait of Hormuz, but did not provide details.

Gulf allies including Saudi Arabia and UAE are privately pressing president Trump to continue the war against Iran until Tehran is decisively weakened or its leadership changes, Associated Press reported on Monday.

"The diplomat said Saudi Arabia has argued to the US that ending the war now won’t produce a “good deal,” one guaranteeing security for Iran’s Arab neighbors," the report said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday the Iranian people deserve better leadership than the clerical regime and the US would not be heartbroken by a change in leadership but that was not the objective of the operation Epic Fury.

"Do we think the people of Iran deserve better leadership than what they've gotten from the clerical regime? 100%. Would we be heartbroken if there was a change in leadership? Absolutely not... But that was not the objective of this operation," Rubio said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.