President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States was closing in on victory in its war with Iran, declaring that his decision to confront Tehran prevented what he described as the potentially catastrophic consequences of a nuclear-armed Iranian regime.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he expected the conflict to be resolved quickly, even as U.S. and Iranian officials continued communicating separately with mediators in an effort to find a path toward ending the war.
“We’re going to win, as far as I’m concerned, it’s going to be one way or the other,” Trump said, adding, “It’s going to go pretty quickly.”
Trump also predicted that energy prices, which have risen sharply amid the conflict and disruptions to shipping in the region, would fall significantly once the war ended, saying gasoline prices would “come tumbling down” following an American victory.
The president used his remarks Monday to again defend his decision to enter the war, arguing that the overriding objective was preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“If you want to see turmoil, let them take out a city with a nuclear weapon. I’m not only talking about Israel and big parts of the Middle East. Let them hit us with a nuclear weapon, for all those stupid people that think it’s okay,” said Trump.
Trump described Iran’s leadership in particularly stark terms as he insisted that allowing Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons was never an acceptable option.
“They are crazy. There’s no question about it. They are very crazy people. I tell them all the time. I say, ‘You are crazy, man.’ But they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said that concern was at the heart of his decision to commit the United States to military action against Iran.
“I went to war to stop what could be one of the worst things that could ever happen to the world – to us, but to the world,” Trump continued. “Israel would be wiped out right now. There would be no Israel, there’d be no Middle East, and then the rockets and the bombs would start coming our way and Europe’s way. And I stopped it.”
Trump’s comments came as diplomatic efforts continued behind the scenes despite a wide gap between Washington and Tehran over the terms of any agreement.
U.S. and Iranian officials held separate discussions with mediators Monday in the latest attempt to end the seven-month conflict. Qatar has played a central role in carrying messages between the two governments, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meeting with Qatari mediators in New York.
The discussions centered on an amended version of a seven-day proposal Iran presented during the United Nations General Assembly. Under Tehran’s proposal, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and nuclear negotiations would resume within a week if Washington agreed to a series of Iranian demands.
Those demands included ending the U.S. naval blockade, easing restrictions on Iranian oil exports, unfreezing Iranian assets and restoring a ceasefire. Washington, however, has insisted that Iran’s nuclear program and uranium stockpile must be addressed as part of any broader agreement rather than left for later negotiations.
Trump rejected Iran’s initial proposal Saturday, with U.S. officials arguing that Tehran was seeking major concessions up front while offering only a commitment to negotiate afterward.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, sent mixed signals Monday about the status of the diplomatic effort. Iranian state media reported that Tehran’s delegation in New York had no plans for direct negotiations with the United States, while Araghchi continued discussions with Qatari intermediaries.
The disagreement over Iran’s nuclear program remains one of the principal obstacles to an agreement. Washington has sought guarantees preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and has pressed for inspections and restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities. Iranian leaders have maintained that the country is entitled to a civilian nuclear program and have resisted American demands they regard as infringing on that right.
Trump had delivered a similar assessment of the war Sunday, saying that the military and economic pressure being applied to Tehran had already dramatically weakened the regime.
“I think what’s going to happen is we’re going to win this war very soon,” he said, adding that stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was “key to the whole thing.”
“We’ve already won it really from a military standpoint,” the President added, while making clear that U.S. military operations were not necessarily over.
In additional remarks Sunday, Trump said the United States was succeeding both militarily and economically against Iran, pointing to the severe deterioration of the Iranian economy and currency as evidence of the pressure facing Tehran.
At the same time, Trump refused to guarantee that the United States would refrain from carrying out additional military strikes before the November midterm elections.
“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 that,” he said.
Iran, for its part, has publicly warned that it remains prepared for a prolonged confrontation if negotiations fail. Araghchi said over the weekend that Tehran was prepared for a “doomsday war,” even while maintaining that Iran remained open to a diplomatic resolution.
The current negotiations follow contacts last week in New York involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Araghchi, with Qatar serving as an intermediary. Those exchanges produced Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations within seven days if its conditions were accepted.
The Strait of Hormuz has become a central focus of efforts to end the conflict because disruptions to shipping through the strategic waterway have sent shockwaves through global energy markets. The narrow passage is one of the world’s most important routes for oil and natural gas shipments, making the dispute a concern extending far beyond the United States, Iran and Israel.
Trump has repeatedly argued that the combination of American military pressure and Iran’s deteriorating economic position will ultimately force Tehran to accept terms that permanently prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
For the president, however, Monday’s message was that whatever diplomatic negotiations ultimately produce, the fundamental objective of the war remains unchanged: Iran cannot be permitted to possess a nuclear weapon, and Trump maintains that his decision to go to war prevented precisely that outcome.
