US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he believes the war with Iran will be resolved in his favor “very soon,” while acknowledging that additional US military strikes before the US midterm elections are “possible,” according to Fox News.
Speaking on the sidelines of a golf tournament, Trump said the United States would achieve victory very soon, after which oil prices would fall sharply and return to pre-war levels.
Trump reiterated that Iran would not acquire a nuclear weapon, saying that nuclear deterrence was “a key element of the whole thing.”
He said the United States was achieving success through both military and economic means, adding: “I think we’re succeeding at both. We’re going to win both ways. We’ve already won militarily. But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped.”
Trump said Iran’s economy “has disappeared” and that “they have no economy.”
He also said Iran’s currency had become worthless and claimed that inflation had exceeded 300%, arguing that the country’s currency, economy and military capabilities had all collapsed.
Trump declined to rule out military action before the midterm elections, saying: “I don’t want to say that. I don’t want to say that. I mean, it’s possible, but I just don’t want to say it.”
Trump had previously rejected an Iranian proposal for a seven-day ceasefire, saying Tehran was suffering major losses as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the United States had full control of the strait.
Trump said Iran wanted to reach an agreement but described its proposal as unacceptable. He added that the United States had imposed “the biggest blockade in military history” and built a “wall of steel” around the Strait of Hormuz.
He said huge volumes of oil pass through the strait and that 29 vessels had crossed it the previous night, adding that Iran had put itself in a difficult position by closing the waterway and had lost its sources of revenue.
According to US officials, Iran conveyed the proposal to Washington through intermediaries, but Trump rejected it. The officials said Trump told private meetings that he expected bombing of Iran to resume after the US midterm elections.
The officials said Trump doubts Iran’s willingness to comply with his demands, although his current position could change in the coming weeks. They added that his hesitation over resuming large-scale fighting is partly linked to Washington’s desire to preserve its dwindling stockpile of munitions for other scenarios.
Source: Fox News
