WASHINGTON, March 31. /TASS/. Washington is not yet ready to announce the end of the US military operation against Iran or the cessation of efforts to restore normal shipping conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump stated.

"At some point I will. Not quite yet," the US leader said in an interview with CBS News.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported, citing sources, that Trump told his advisers that he wants to end the campaign against Iran only if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to shipping.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.

In turn, Iranian authorities decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships linked to the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic. During the conflict, several tankers were attacked for passing through the strait without Tehran’s permission. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had authorized passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan.