Shortly after issuing a 30-day partial waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, President Donald Trump said the US was going to hit Iran “very hard in the next week”, hoping to reduce prices that have risen due to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Prices have been rising on Trump’s changing comments on the potential duration of the war, which have prompted Iran to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has previously said the war is “total”, and has also promised to guarantee the safety of ships in the strait. In a Fox News interview broadcast Friday, Trump said the US would escort shipping there “if needed.” Benchmark Brent crude fell about 0.6% to about $99.8, still up about 40% since the start of the war. After nearly two weeks of war, 2,000 people have been killed, most of them in Iran, but many also in Lebanon and a growing number in the Gulf, which has found itself on the front lines for the first time in decades of conflicts across West Asia. As Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Beirut’s suburbs, Lebanon’s interior minister said authorities were unable to accommodate thousands of people seeking refuge in the capital. Israel also dropped leaflets threatening Gaza-scale destruction as it deployed more troops to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah and warned of further attacks on Lebanese infrastructure. Iran fired more missiles and drones at Israel, and Iranian drones were reported flying over Kuwait, Iraq, UAVs, Bahrain and Oman. A large explosion hit a central square in the Iranian capital, where thousands of people had gathered Friday for an annual state-organized rally to support Palestinians and call for Israel’s end. Israel had warned that it would target the area of central Tehran. Iranian Press TV said one woman was killed in the airstrike. President Massoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and security chief Ali Larijani were all seen in the video attending the rally in a gesture of open defiance. “People are not afraid of these attacks. As you can see, people have come out in this rain, under these difficulties,” judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezei said in March. “We will not back down in any way.” In Washington, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said more than 15,000 enemy targets had been struck. He sought to address concerns about effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, saying: “We are dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.” With gasoline and diesel prices rising at the pumps around the world, the US on Thursday issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products already at sea – where it is not unusual for the consignments to be sold or change their buyer. The US rebate on Russian oil was welcomed in Moscow but angered Kiev and its allies. “The six G7 members expressed a very clear opinion that this is not the right signal,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Norway. “We learned this morning that the U.S. government has apparently decided otherwise.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the move could cost Russia $10 billion, adding: “It definitely does not help peace.” In an interview with Fox News Radio that aired Friday, Trump said he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin could help Iran “a little bit.” “I think he might be helping him (Iran) a little bit, yes, I think. And he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump told “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”