Trump Says He Faces Big Decision Whether to Annihilate Iran After Two More Tankers Hit in Hormuz, IRGC Claims Togo-Flagged Vessel Strike

President Trump told Axios on Thursday September 17 that he is approaching a critical juncture in the Iran war over whether to restart massive attacks to bring the conflict to a close, saying he has a big decision coming up on whether to go in and annihilate the Iranian regime or not, adding that anything could happen with him. The president is scheduled to meet leaders from six Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday September 22, a meeting that could shape the next phase of the war, including whether to make another push for diplomacy or intensify military action, according to Axios and Fox News. Separately, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said early Friday that it struck the Togo-flagged tanker Trend in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night after the vessel attempted what Tehran called an illegal passage through the waterway, with the IRGC Navy commander stating the tanker was hit and stopped after catching fire. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a separate security incident Thursday involving a tanker hit by an unknown projectile in the strait, 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, though it was unclear whether the two reports referred to the same vessel. All crew were reported safe in the UKMTO incident. Trump's comments come as the 201-day US-Israeli war with Iran continues to disrupt global energy markets despite what Washington calls increased tanker transit through Hormuz. A UN fact-finding mission said September 17 there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two February strikes — one on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab and another on a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd — that killed a combined total of at least 178 civilians, including 120 children, according to multiple outlets. Trump told Fox News on Friday that the war will end soon and predicted gas prices will fall once the con