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During a press conference held at his Miami resort on Monday, President Trump hinted that the conflict with Iran might soon reach its conclusion. This announcement came shortly after he addressed House Republicans at their annual gathering.
When questioned about the timeline for ending the war, Trump responded, “Very soon. Look, everything they have is gone, including their leadership.”
In a significant development over the weekend, Iran’s ruling clerics selected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the former leader Ali Khamenei, as the new supreme leader. This decision is widely perceived as a direct challenge to Trump.
Furthermore, Trump softened his earlier weekend accusations implicating Iran in an attack on a school during the initial stages of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign. He also downplayed concerns about the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial point for global energy trade, stating that it posed no threat to the United States.
Here are five pivotal points from the press conference.
Trump backs ‘internal’ regime change in Iran
Trump told reporters during a news conference on Monday that he likes the idea of “internal” regime change in Iran because he said it “works well.”
Trump said he was “disappointed” with Iran’s so-called Assembly of Experts electing Mojtaba Khamenei as the new leader, but he added the country should install a new president, a role currently held by Masoud Pezeshkian, a relatively reformist figure elected in 2024.
Walking back earlier calls for an overthrow of the Islamic Republic, Trump said he wants to work with someone inside the current regime in a manner similar to how he’s handling Venezuela — where Trump took out the country’s president but kept the regime in place when they acceded to U.S. economic demands.
“I think we’ve proven that so far. In Venezuela, we have a woman, Delcy, who has been president of the country, very respected, very — doing a great job. And it’s, you know, no disruption. We had, as you remember Iraq, where everybody got fired. The military got fired, the police got fired, the politicians got fired. There was nobody. And you know what they turned into? ISIS. And we don’t want that. We don’t want that. So I would like to see people that are inside,” he said.
Trump previously indicated that he wanted a hand in selecting new leaders in Iran. And when the war began, Trump called on Iranians to rise up against the Islamic regime.
Mojtaba Khamenei is closely connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is seen as being at least as hard-line as his father.
“We think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country. So I was disappointed to see their choice,” Trump said of the new leader.
Trump claims Iran using Tomahawks, eases off blame for school bombing
Trump said Iran possesses long-range, cruise Tomahawk missiles when asked about the late February strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran, where more than 160 people, many of them children, were killed.
Trump was asked about evidence that a Tomahawk was used in the attack, which remains under investigation by the U.S. military.
“Well, I haven’t seen it, and I will say that the Tomahawk, which is one of the most powerful weapons around, is used by, you know, is sold and used by other countries. You know that. And whether it’s Iran, who also has some Tomahawks,” Trump said.
Trump did not provide any evidence that Iran has Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of about 1,000 miles and can be fired from U.S. Navy warships and submarines.
The U.S. military is the only fighting force known to have Tomahawk cruise missiles, which are produced by Raytheon, involved in the ongoing war with Iran.
Other countries that have Tomahawk missiles, which can fly at low altitude to evade anti-missile defense systems, are Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands.
Later during the press conference, the president eased off his comments over the weekend blaming Iran for the strike on the school, which is located near an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base in Minab, Iran.
“Because I just don’t know enough about it. I think it’s something that I was told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are used by others,” Trump said, adding, “but I will certainly, whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report,” he added later.
The comments come as mounting evidence suggests the U.S. military is likely responsible for the attack, with the school being hit on the same day as the U.S. military’s strike on the IRGC base, according to a recent analysis by The New York Times.
Trump calls Iran war ‘excursion’ that will be done ‘very soon’
Trump branded the major military operation against Iran an “excursion” and signaled he wants to wind down combat against the Islamic Republic ahead of his four-to-five-week timeline.
Trump answered in the negative when asked if military operations would end within days, or by the end of the week, but he said it would happen “very soon.”
In telegraphing a quicker end to the war, Trump appeared to temper his previous ultimatums requiring Iran to surrender unconditionally and give him a say in the country’s new leader.
He also stressed Washington is “achieving major strides toward completing our military objective, and some people could say they’re pretty well complete.”
He listed off claims the U.S. military has wiped out Iranian forces, sunk its navy, destroyed its air force, targeted its drone and missile capability and disabled its radar and antiaircraft equipment.
The Pentagon, however, was sounding a different tune earlier Monday.
“We have Only Just Begun to Fight,” a Pentagon-run social media account posted Monday alongside a picture of a launched missile with the words “No Mercy” superimposed over it.
That echoed comments from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an interview with CBS News’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, in which he said, “What I want your viewers to understand is this is only just the beginning.”
Trump says Putin ‘wants to be helpful’ on Iran war
Trump on Monday described a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as “very good” and said the Russian leader wanted to help hostilities in the Middle East.
Trump was not asked about, and did not address, reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran to target American service members. At least eight U.S. troops have been killed in the fighting over the course of nine days of war.
While Trump expressed some frustration with Russia’s war against Ukraine and the failure of 14 months of diplomacy to reach at least a ceasefire, the president said he had a “positive” talk with Putin on the subject.
“I said that you can be more helpful by getting the Ukraine, Russia war over with,” Trump said.
“That will be more helpful. But we had a very good talk, and he wants to be very constructive.”
Trump says Strait of Hormuz bottleneck ‘doesn’t really affect us’
Trump touted the efforts the U.S. is making to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, but he argued the bottleneck caused by the war is not a significant problem for American consumers.
“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” Trump said.
Trump has floated the possibility of the U.S. providing Navy escorts for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed to commercial traffic since the war broke out.
The U.S. has also offered to provide reinsurance for losses of up to $20 billion in the Gulf region in an effort to provide confidence for oil and gas shippers.
Although gas prices in the U.S. have jumped about 17 percent since the war started, the highest spike since 2024, Trump said the bottleneck was a bigger issue for other countries, particularly China.
“With all of that, it affects other countries much more than it does the United States. Doesn’t really affect us. We have so much oil. We have tremendous oil and gas — much more than we need,” he added. “We have Venezuela now as our new partner, great partner. They’ve worked out so wonderful.”